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By S Gurumurthy Published: 23rd January 2013 11:29 PM Last Updated: 14th August 2013 02:05 PM

Samjhauta Blast Case: Counter Investigation To NIAInvestigation

Samjhauta Blast Case:

Counter Investigation To NIA Investigation

NIA suppresses evidence against LeT, Arif Qasmani, David Headley and PakistanAnd

Fabricates Charge Sheet to fix Indians

To create notion of Hindu Terror

By

S. Gurumurthy

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Samjhauta Blast Case: Counter Investigation To NIA Investigation - The New Indian Express http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Samjhauta-Blast-Case-Counter-Investigation-To-NIA...

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I. Executive Summary

This Paper documents the counter investigation against the National Investigation Agency's

[NIA] investigation into the Samjhauta blast and against NIA's charge sheet resulting fromthe investigation.

1.

The Paper brings together all credible and official evidence mostly available in public

domain pointing and admitting to the involvement of Pakistan and Karachi basedbusinessman Arif Qasmani, LeT and Al Qaeda, David Coleman Headley and his third wifeFaiza Outalha, as assisted by SIMI from Indore but suppressed in the investigation by the

NIA. And the evidence thus brought out virtually demolishes the NIA charge sheet in theSamjhauta blast case.

1.

The NIA charge sheet in the case, filed on June 20, 2011, charges five persons, Indians,namely, Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand, Sunil Joshi (now dead), Lokesh

Sharma, Sandeep Dange alias Parmanand and Ramchandra Kalasangra alias Ramji aliasVishnu Patel with having conspired and committed the Samjhauta train blast.

1.

It is explicit from the NIA charge sheet Aseemanandas retracted confession almost

exclusively constitutes the backbone of the NIA case [Para 1]. A look at Assemanandasconfession shows in respect of Samjhauta blast shows that it is just hearsay in law.

1.

Yet according to the NIA sources Aseemanandas confession has only ruled out theinvolvement of other Jihadi groups that is, if Aseemanadas confession is excluded, the

focus of the probe will shift to Pakistan and terrorists like Arif Qasmani, David Headley,LeT, SIMI and their associates [Para 33]. So it is on the basis of Aseemanandas alleged

confession that the NIA had rejected or suppressed all other evidences marshaled in this

Paper.

1.

The leak of Aseemanandas alleged confession to the media, which is shocking and1.

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deliberate, is part of the design to politicize the case, conduct and conclude a media trial,and to create, at the global level, the notion of Hindu terror for political purposes of the

ruling party [Paras 4-6].

Neutral and credible evidence brought out in the Paper like -1.

(a) The resolution of the Committee on sanctions of the United Nations Security Council [ in

June 2009] [Para 18] and the public declaration of the US Treasury Department [in July 2009]

[Para 19] to the effect that Arif Qasmani, the chief coordinator of LeT, had funded the

Samjhauta blast with the Al Qaeda providing the staff for the blast;

(b) The admission of Pakistans interior minister [in Janury 2010] that Pakistani terrorists

were hired for the blast [Para 20];

(c) The confession of Faiza Outalha, the third of wife of David Coleman Headley [in 2008,

made public in 2010] that Headley was involved in the Samjhauta blast and she was also

innocently involved [Paras 21-26]; and

(d) The SIMI leaders testimony under narco effect [in 2007 made publicin 2008] that they

had provided support for the Pakistanis involved in attack [Para 10];

Destroys the case in NIA charge sheet and confirms the evil intent of the political

establishment.

The substance of the circumstantial and documentary evidence marshaled in the Paper is asunder:

1.

Initial leads and evidence in the probe pointed to the involvement of Pakistan in Samjhauta

blast [Para 7-9]

1.

Further evidence pointed to the involvement of SIMI operating from Indore and LeT fromoutside in the blast [Para 10]

1.

A factually incorrect, actually false and intriguing submission in Court by the MaharashtraATS counsel 15.11.2008 that Col Purohit had supplied RDX for Samjhauta blast derailed theSamjhauta probe [Para 11]

1.

The Maharashtra ATS counsels statement bewildered the Samjhauta case investigators

[Para 12]

1.


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S jh t Bl t C C t I ti ti T NIA I ti ti Th N I di E htt // i di / ti /S jh t Bl t C C t I ti ti T NIA


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Within 48 hours Maharastra ATS counsel retracted the statement [Para 13]1.

Earlier, in 2007 itself, Shivraj Patil, Home Minister of India had stated that RDX was notused in Samjhauta blast [Para 14]

1.

Later on January 20, 2009, Maharastra ATS officially denied that Col Purohit supplied RDXfor Samjhauta [Para 15]

1.

But meanwhile the damage that was done in the 48 hours after the Maharashtra ATSstatement couldnt be undone. Pakistan began to campaign that Col Purohit and Indians

were involved in Samjhauta. The Maharashtra ATS submission to the Court is intriguing [Para16]

1.

But subsequent to the Maharastra ATS statement in November 2008 and retraction in 2009,

torrent of solid evidence of Pakistani Jihadi involvement began coming out in the publicdomain. [Para 17]

1.

First, the US Treasury Department announced in July 2009 saying that Arif Qasmani, thechief coordinator of LeT worked with LeT to facilitate the Samjhauta attack [Para 18]

1.

Next, a month earlier in June 2009, the United Nations Security Council sub committee

declared that Arif Qasmani has worked with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba to facilitate terrorist attacksincluding the bombing of February 2007 in the Samjhauta Express in Panipat (India). [Para

19]

1.

Third, in January 2010, Pakistans interior minister Rehman Mallik publicly admittedPakistans involvement in Samjhauta saying that Col Purohit had hired Pakistani extremiststo attack Samjhauta [Para 20]

1.

Fourth, in November 2010 The Washington Post carried investigative articles in which Faiza

Outalha, the third wife of David Headley had admitted to to the US intelligence in 2008itself about Headleys role in Samjhauta blast and also confessed to her own role in the

blast [Para 21&22]

1.

Sixth, the US media investigation again confirmed in January 2011 that Faiza Outalha had

made the extra judicial confession of her involvement to the US Intelligence in April 2008itself [Paras 23-25]

1.

Seventh, George Mapp, who was examined by the NIA, has exposed in his columns how Faiza

Outalha was given special permission by Pakistan to enter India on foot and exit through theWagah border. [Para 26]

1.

Eighth, George Mapp says that the NIA did not properly examine Headley to obtain truth andsays that the US has closed further examination of Headley by NIA [Para 27]

1.


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Samjhauta Blast Case: Counter Investigation To NIA Investigation The New Indian Express http://www newindianexpress com/nation/Samjhauta Blast Case Counter Investigation To NIA


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In the background of the evidence in the public domain in th form of SIMI cadres narcoticstatements, US Treasury departments declaration, the UNSC resolution, Faiza Outalhasextra judicial confession, the NIA charge sheet in negation of all these has created

confusion in the public mind, which is evident from media discourse in India. [Para 28-32]

1.

Even according to the NIA sources Aseemanandas confession only ruled out the involvementof other Jihadi groups meaning that if Aseemanadas confession is excluded, the focus will

shift to Pakistan and terrorists like Arif Qasmani, David Headley, LeT, SIMI and theirassociates[Para 33]

1.

The way the Samjhauta case has been fabricated to substitute the present accused for thereal ones resembles the fabricated investigation into the LN Mishra case in which, in the

place of the real accused like Yashpal Kapur, Ananda Margis were substituted, resulting inthe trial still dragging even after 35 years. The only difference is that in LN Mishra case the

intent was to save the real accused, and in the present case the intent is to fix the presentaccused[Para 34]

1.

The statement of the Home Minister that the BJP was attacking him because he wasexpediting the investigation into the Hindu extremists in terror cases [Para 35]

1.

The conclusion flowing from the counter investigation is that the charge sheet based on the

investigation carried out by the NIA, which on the face of it lacks bona fides and seems to be

motivated by political propensities, ought to be rejected and the case has to be reinvestigated

by an independent agency under the supervision of the Court.

The detailed counter investigation paper follows.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Samjhauta Blast Case:

Counter investigation to NIA investigation

NIA suppresses evidence against LeT, Arif Qasmani, David Headley and Pakistan

And

Fabricates Charge Sheet to fix Indians

To create notion of Hindu Terror


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Initial leads and evidence in the probe pointed to the involvement of Pakistan in Samjhauta

blast [Para 7-9]

The initial media reports on the blast are important in the context of the subsequent

investigation by the probe agencies. A summary of the media reports are given as under:

1.

The day after the bombings, Indian police stated that the suitcase bomb attack was thework of at least four or five people with a possible militant connection.

1.

The police also released sketches of two suspects who the police Inspector General said hadleft the train just fifteen minutes before the explosions.

1.

The police say that one of the men was around 35 or 36 years old, "plumpish" and dark, witha moustache, and the second was around 26 or 27, wearing a scarfwrapped around hishead. The police also stated that both men were speaking Hindi.

1.

Reference: Denyer, Simon (2007-02-20). "Police release sketches of bomb suspects". Reuters.

Retrieved on 26.9.2011

See below.

Quote:

Indian police release sketches of bombsuspects

By Simon Denyer

NEW DELHI | Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:14pm EST (Reuters)

India released sketches on Tuesday of two suspects in the bombing of a train to Pakistanthat

killed 68 people and both countries vowed not to let the attack disrupt a slow-moving peace

process.

Police said the suitcase bombs were the work of at least four or five people and a militant

outfit must have been responsible for Sunday night's attack.

j g g p p p j g

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--------

--------

"Around 11:30 (p.m.), these people got down, and the blasts happened 15 minutes later,"

police Inspector-General Sharad Kumar told a televised news conference in Panipat town,close to the site of the blasts about 80 km (50 miles) outside New Delhi.

One of the suspects was around 35 or 36 years old, "plumpish" and dark, with a mustache. The

second was around 26 or 27, wearing a scarf wrapped around his head. Both were speaking the

local Hindi language.

PAKISTANI QUESTIONED

The men had an argument with railway police earlier in the journey and had said they had

wanted to go to the western city of Ahmedabad, police said. They were told the train did not

go there and were asked to get off.

"After the argument, when the train slowed down, they walked off," said Bharti Arora, a

senior railway police officer.

While the train attack occurred in India, the majority of the victims on the Samjhauta Express

were Pakistanis.

The suitcases were packed with plastic bottles of kerosene and petrol, and mixed with strips

of cloth to prolong the blaze. Two other bombs were planted but failed to explode.

Police are still questioning Pakistani national Usman Mohammed, who said he threw one of

the suitcases off the train.

"The suitcase was thrown on the track," Kumar said. "Usman was there and said he had thrown

it. We are verifying it. We are not giving a clean chit. He was drunk."

Another man, a Pakistani national who was drunk at the time, was being questioned because

he said he threw one of the bomb-containing suitcases off the train. A senior Haryana staterailway police official said that the man's "account has been inconsistent and we have no

definite conclusions yet."

j g g p p p j g

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Later, the Inspector General said "the suitcase was thrown on the track" and that thePakistani national "was there and said he had thrown it."

1.

Two persons, whose identities are not known, had boarded the train when it left New Delhion Sunday and soon began arguing with the conductor, saying they were on the wrong train.

They were allowed to jump off when the train slowed down about 15 minutes to 20 minutesbefore the crude bombs detonated, said Sharad Kumar, a senior police official.

1.

Reference: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-18-india-train_x.htm See below

Quote:

DEWANA, India (AP) Indian police released sketches Tuesday of two men suspected of

planting a pair of bombs that sparked a fire on a train barreling through northern India for

Pakistan, killing 68 people in an attack officials said was intended to disrupt relations

between the two countries.

The two, whose identities are not known, boarded the train when it left New Delhi on Sunday

and soon began arguing with the conductor, saying they were on the wrong train. They were

allowed to jump off when the train slowed down about 15 minutes to 20 minutes before the

crude bombs detonated, said Sharad Kumar, a senior police official.

----------

----------

Meanwhile, a Pakistani passenger on the train was detained Tuesday for questioning, Indian

officials said.

"He was found in a drunken state and he's being questioned. But his account has been

inconsistent and we have no definite conclusions yet," said Bharti Arora, a senior Haryana

state railway police official. The man is a resident of Karachi, Pakistan, she said, declining to

provide further details.

--------

--------

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A Home Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the investigation,

said no suspects had been ruled out from Kashmiri separatists to Hindu extremists.

"The people who are involved in carrying out this attack appear to be well trained. The

method used to carry out this attack low intensity explosives along with incendiary material

is the best possible way to attack a train," R.K. Kaushik, the Haryana state government'sexpert on ballistic and explosive materials, told The Associated Press.

He said it was too early to determine who was responsible for the attacks. Kaushik and his

team of forensic experts were examining the burned coaches for clues.

---------

---------

Authorities say two suitcases packed with crude unexploded bombs and bottles of gasolinewere found in undamaged train cars, indicating the fire had been sparked by similar devices.

In early March, Haryanapolice arrested two people from the city of Indorewho allegedlysold the suitcases used in the bombings. See below.

1.

Quote:

The two were picked up from central city of Indore. Police believe they sold the suitcases

used to make the bombs that were set off on the train.

The blasts and blaze on the cross-border train killed 68 people.

It is not clear who was behind the attack on the Friendship Express and no group has admittedcarrying it out.

Senior police official RC Mishra said the authorities believe the bombers purchased suitcases

in Indore that were stuffed with explosives and petrol.

India has said it would share with Pakistan the results of its inquiry into the 18 February

bombing.

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-----

-----

Indians have also given Pakistani authorities the sketch of a man said to be from Pakistan who

was allegedly involved in the bombing

Unquote

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6448671.stm

A probe conducted by the commissioner of Railway Safety officially determined that theexplosions and fire on the Samjhauta Express had been caused by bombs located in theupper compartments in coaches GS 03431 and GS 14857.

1.

Reference: http://ushome.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/26samblast.htm

See below.

Quote

A statutory inquiry by the commissioner of Railway Safety, Northern Circle, said the fire was

caused by the explosion of bombs kept on the upper racks near the door in two coaches -- GS

03431 and GS 14857 -- of 4001 UP Attari Special, an official release said on Monday.

Unquote

The probe also showed that the train slowed down to a speed of 20 kilometres per hour(12.4 mph) just before it was going to pass the Diwana train station. The results

strengthened the belief that the suspects got off the train before the explosions.

1.

Reference:"Samjhauta Express slowed down before blasts". Press Trust of India. 2007-03-28.

The CNN-IBN reported on 21.2.2007 that the investigations into the Samjhauta Express1.

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The sketches of the two who were suspects were handed over to Pakistan;1.

One Pakistani passenger was seen to have thrown one of the suitcases containing bombsfrom the train; he was in a drunken state and he was inconsistent in his answers;

1.

The explosives used were low intensity gasoline bombs adequate to set the train on fire.That is the explosives were not of the RDX variety;1.

Statutory inquiry by Railway authorities showed that the explosives had been kept in upperracks of the two compartments;

1.

The suit cases in which the unexploded bombs had been kept were found to been purchased

in Indore;

1.

Two persons in Indore who had sold the suitcases had been picked up by the HaryanaPolice;

1.

The Delhi police had also found that there was a last minute telephone call at 00.40 hrs

from Old Delhi to Pak occupied Kashmir strengthening the belief that the blast could beLeTs handiwork;

1.

The explosives 72 bottles of liquid explosives with IEDs in suitcases were sourced from

Delhi and police had carried our raids in parts of Old Delhi;

1.

The two suspects purchased the suit cases from the Old Delhi Railway station;1.

They also purchased a Hindi daily; this is significant as a Hindi daily published from Aligarhwas found along inside the unexploded suitcase.

1.

These initial leads are important in the context of the subsequent allegations in the NIA chargesheet.

The photo sketches of the two suspects were also released to the public as shown

hereunder:

1.

India releases Suspects' Sketches.

The two men, whose identities are not known, boarded the train when it left New Delhi on

Sunday but quickly began arguing with the conductor, insisting they were on the wrong train.

They were allowed to jump from the train as it slowed down about 15 minutes to 20 minutes

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before the crude bombs detonated, said Sharad Kumar, a senior police official.

http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?395-India/page14

The important question that arises is whether these sketches bear resemblance to any of the

accused persons in the NIA charge sheet. Did the NIA ever check this fact? None of the accused

resembles the two persons whose sketches were released by the investigation. It means that

initial lead about the suspects has not been pursued by the NIA at all.

Further evidence pointed to the involvement of SIMI operating from Indore and LeT from

outside in the blast [Para 10]

Subsequent evidence pointed to the involvement of SIMI assisting Lashkar-e-Tayyiba [leT] in

the Samjhauta terror.

1.

The India Today in its issue of September 19, 2008, gave a detailed and meticulous accountof the involvement of SIMI, LeT and Pakistan in the Samjhauta terror. The said report

[which is available on line in URL http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/EXCLUSIVE:+Pak+hand+in+Mumbai+train+blasts,+Samjhauta+Express+blasts,+says+Nagori/1/15655.html - comment] titled Pak hand in Mumbai train blasts, Samjhauta Express

blasts, says Nagori, is marked hereto, as Annex A. It is evident from the above report,

which details the meticulously the Nagori narco confession and claims that the narco testresults of the three SIMI leaders including Safdar Nagori are exclusively available with India

Today that:

1.

Narcotic Tests were carried out in Bangalore, in April 2007, three months after theSamjhauta blast, on the general secretary of SIMI, Safdar Nagori, his brother KamruddinNagori and Amil Parvez;

The results of the narco test of the SIMI leaders available with the India Today revealed that

SIMI activists had helped to carry out the Samjhauta blast;

The attack was carried out with the help of the Pakistani nationals who had come acrossthe border;

While Nagori was not directly involved, two members of SIMI Ehtesham Siddiqui and Nasir

were directly involved;

SIMI members, including his brother Kamaruddin, were involved in the Samjhatua blast;

For executing the Samjhauta blast, some persons from Pakistan had come and they had

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purchased suitcase cover at Kataria Market in Indore;

One of the members from SIMI has helped the Pakistanis to get the suitcase cover stitched;

[It may be noted that in Samjhauta blast, five bombs packed in suitcases and activated by

timer switches were used]

One Abdul Razak helped the Pakistanis in the Samjjauta blasts for which he had taken helpfrom Mishab-ul-Islam of Kolkata who headed the SIMI unit in Indore.

Later, when reports appeared after the Maharastra ATS alleged without any evidence thatCol Purohit was involved in the Samjhauta blast along with Sadwi Pragya, the Daily Pioneer

Delhi also carried a detailed report on in which it had made a detailed analysis about thenarco test of the SIMI and said that SIMI was involved in the Samjhauta blast. The said

report is summarized below.

1.

The findings of the narco test of Safdar Nagori and his associates, Kamruddin Nagori andAamil Parvez, show no involvement of Purohit and Sadhvis in the Samjhauta Express blasts.

On the contrary, they admitted the involvement of the SIMI and jihadi elements behind thetrain carnage and Malegaon blasts of 2006.

The narco analysis test reports of the trio are with the ATS, Mumbai, which had alsoquestioned the trio arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Police in March.

A joint director-level official of the operations branch of the Intelligence Bureau,responsible for the parallel investigation into the Malegaon blasts, said the Mumbai ATS

claims about the involvement of the Sadhvi and Purohit are far-fetched as SIMIsinvolvement in the case is beyond reasonable doubt.

Apart from the Samjhauta Express and Malegaon blasts, Nagori and his associates have also

confessed to SIMIs role and involvement of Muslims in terror attacks in Mumbai,Aurangabad, Hyderabad, Ajmer and the shootout at the American consulate in Kolkata.

Nagori told the team of doctors of FSL, Bangalore, In the Samjhauta Express blasts, somepersons from Pakistan had come and they had purchased the suitcase cover at KatariaMarket, Indore.

One person from (SIMI) Tanzeem had helped them to get the suitcase cover stitched. SIMIleader Abdul Razak had helped the Pakistanis in the Samjhauta Express blasts.

Nagori also revealed that Razak had informed him beforehand about the Samjhauta Expressblasts.

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Razak had sought the help of West Bengal SIMI president Misbah-ul-Islam for the Samjhautaexplosions.

Razak has a number of relatives in Pakistan, according to Nagoris revelations. Kamruddin

Nagori also concurred about Razaks involvement in the Samjhauta Express blasts.

Kamruddin said during drug interrogation, There were good relations between SafdarNagori and Abdul Razak. Abdul Razak had discussed the Samjhauta Express blasts withSafdar Nagori.

http://dailypioneer.com/134395/Nagori-narco-test-calls-ATS-bluff.html

That all the three SIMI activists who admitted in narco test that the Pakistanis staged theSamjhauta attack and that SIMI cadre had helped them is extremely critical in the context of

the present NIA charge sheet in the Samjhauta case. The corroboration by the SIMI leaders that

the Pakistanis had purchased the suit cases from Indore is also important in the context of the

initial leads pointing to the suit cases in which the bombs had been kept in the train having

been traced to Indore.

Therefore the nacro test revelations clearly seemed to corroborate the initial leads and involve

the SIMI and Pakistani extremists in the Samjhauta blast. The question is what happened to the

narco test lead and the persons mentioned in the narco test revelation. Did the NIA pursue the

leads of narco tests?

In this context it is relevant to point out that the alleged conspirators in the present charge

sheet of NIA and the alleged conspirators belonging to SIMI belonged to the Malwa region inMadhya Pradesh and in particular Indore. The CNNIBN reporting on the growth of SIMI inMalwa regionin a news dispatch on March 28, 2008, titled MP's Malwa region becoming a

SIMI stronghold, said:

1.

The 13 arrested Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) leaders in Madhya Pradesh are

apparently revealing a terror trail stretching from Karnataka to Mumbai and Delhi.

The text of the CNN-IBN report is attached hereto as Annex B

Other things remaining the same, the Haryana ATS and NIA appear to have changed the actorsand substituted the accused, most o whom are from Malwa, for the real offenders in SIMI also

from Malwa in the present charge sheet, even though NIA knew or ought to have known that

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the present accused have nothing to do with the crime. This is clearly due to political

compulsions of the ruling party as more particularly explained hereinafter.

A factually incorrect, actually false and intriguing submission in Court by the Maharashtra

ATS counsel 15.11.2008 that Col Purohit had supplied RDX for Samjhauta blast derailed the

Samjhauta probe [Para 11]

When leads were thus pointing to Pakistan and SIMI as partners in Samjhauta blast, inNovember 2008, suddenly, as an anti climax, the Maharashtra ATS claimed that Col Purohit,who was allegedly involved in the Malegaon blast in which RDX was allegedly used, had

supplied RDX for the Samjhauta blast. The Indian Express [15.11.2008] reported that theAnti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) claimed that Purohit supplied RDX for Samjhauta Express blast.The report claimed that public prosecutor Ajay Misar told the Court that Malegaon blast

accused Lt Col Purohit had links in Samjautha Express blast and he had handed RDX to one

'Bhagwan'. The report also said that ATS has also told the court that it was investigating thesource of the RDX, which Purohit had obtained.

1.

See: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Purohit supplied-RDX-for-Samjhauta-Express-

blast-ATS/386143/

The Maharashtra ATS counsels statement bewildered the Samjhauta investigators

This stunning claim of Maharashtra ATS bewildered and bemused the investigators who wereprobing the Samjhauta blast as evident from the following news dispatch by PTI quoted in

the Outlook online magazine:

1.

Quote:

ATS claim of RDX in Samjhauta baffles investigators

Sumir Kaul

Mumbai, Nov 16 (PTI) The claim by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad about presence of RDX

in the 2007 Samjhauta train blast has flummoxed investigators who probed the attack as the

forensic analysis had shown no signs of the deadly explosive being used in the terror strike

that left 68 people dead.

The counsel for the ATS, Ajay Misra informed the designated court in Nashik that they wanted

the custody of Lt Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit for four more days as they wanted to

investigate the source of 60 kgs of RDX which could have been used in the blast on the train

linking India and Pakistan.

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According to the forensic analysis, the material used in the train blast a highly flammable

cocktail of fuel oils and chemical stored in dozens of plastic bottles and packed inside a

suitcase, mixed with pieces of cloth to keep the fire going.

This was covered with a foam pad embedded with a small electronic circuit board

in a transparent plastic box.

The chemical composition was Potassium Chlorate and Sulphur, the report had said.

Unquote

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?634017

Within 48 hours Maharastra ATS counsel retracted the submission

But immediately, on 17.11.2008, the ATS counsel retracted from the statement he hadmade the earlier day saying that Col Purohit was involved in the Samjhauta blast. The newsitem carried in The Hindu dated 19.11.2008 is as under:

1.

Quote:

TS denies linking Purohit to Samjhauta blast

Rahi Gaikwad

NASHIK: The Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) has denied that Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit is

linked to the Samjhauta blast.

ATS counsel Ajay Misar clarified on Monday that he had made no statement to the effect that

Lt. Col. Purohit had links with the Samjhauta blast. He said the media misrepresented his

statement in court on Saturday.

However, he refused to clarify the exact nature of his submission in court.

According to the statement of a witness in court, which was presented by Mr. Misar, Lt. Col.

Purohit had 60 kg of RDX in his possession. Some of it was allegedly used in the Malegaon blast

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and some for the Samjhauta blast. The RDX was given to a person known as Bhagwan for the

Samjhauta blast. Bhagwans role is still to be probed.

ATS sources said no RDX was used in the Samjhauta blast and, besides, the Maharashtra ATS

was only probing the Malegaon blast.

Meanwhile, a Haryana police team is interrogating Lt. Col. Purohit in connection with some

other blasts. The ATS sources refused to clarify which were the blasts in question.

Unquote:

http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/18/stories/2008111860311000.htm

Earlier, in 2007 itself, Shivraj Patil, Home Minister of India had stated that RDX was not

used in Samjhauta blast

The India Today magazine online edition [16.11.2008] quoting Home Minister of India ShivrajPatil forthwith denied that any RDX was used in the Samjhauta blast. See India Todayarticle titled "RDX not used in Samjhauta Express blast"

1.

Quote:

Was the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) telling the court the truth when it said that Lt Col Purohit

had supplied RDX that was used with the Samjhauta train bombings?

On Saturday, public prosecutor Ajay Misar sought an extension of police custody on Lt Col

Purohit stating that the army officer was suspected of having supplied the RDX plasticexplosive that was used in the blasts. The ATS claimed that Purohit had sourced 60 kgs of the

lethal plastic explosive from a military depot while posted in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, investigators connected with the February 2007 train bombing probe that left 68

people dead told India Today that the Post Blast Study (PBS) of the blast carried out by the

National Security Guard said that no RDX had been used to bomb the train. What was used was

a firebomb triggered off by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) which used Potassium

Cholorate and Sulphur that reduced two bogeys of the train to ashes.

Days after the blasts, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters that a new type of

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explosive had been used to bomb the Samjhauta Express.

The IED triggered off a dozen plastic bottles filled with kerosene and incendiary chemicals

and stuffed with rags to create a raging fire, the first such use of such bombs in India. The

bombs were neatly packed in four suitcases. Only two of the four suitcases exploded, while

Haryana police destroyed a third unexploded suitcase, the NSG recovered a fourth suitcasewhich was used to study the modus operandi of the bombers.

Forty-two of the dead passengers were Pakistani nationals and investigations reached a dead

end after leading to Indore where the suitcases used in the blasts were sold to the bombers.

A total of four such firebombs were used though only two went off triggering off a blaze that

destroyed the bogeys while it was in Panipat, some 100 km north of Delhi.

Unquote:

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/%E2%80%98RDX+not+used+in+Samjhauta+Express+blast

%E2%80%99/1/20315.html

Later, on January 20, 2009, Maharastra ATS officially denied that Col Purohit

supplied RDX for Samjhauta

Later, on January 20, 2009, the Maharashtra ATS itself came out with a publicannouncement that there was no evidence of Col Purohit having supplied RDX for Samjhautablast.

1.

Quote:

Maharashtra police on Tuesday said that it has no evidence that Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit,

arrested for his alleged involvement in Malegaon blast, had supplied the RDX used in the 2007

Samjhauta Express train blast.

"While investigating the Malegaon blast case, we found one witness who said that Purohit had

claimed to him that he (Purohit) had supplied the RDX used in Samjhauta train blast,"

Additional Director General of Police K P Raghuvanshi told reporters.

"There was only one witness who had made this statement," he said.

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Haryana police had questioned Purohit on the matter and they would be able to speak on his

possible involvement, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Chief said.

"However, in our investigations no such evidence has been found," he said.

The ATS has not found any evidence of Purohit or the other ten members of the group

involved in the Malegaon blast having played a role in any other blasts, Raghuvanshi said.

Unquote

Outlook Jan 20, 2009

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?652231

Significantly, the Maharashtra ATS also said that it did not find any evidence of Purohit

or other ten members of the group involved in the Malegaon blast having played role in any

other blasts.

But damage was done in 48 hours; Pakistan began to campaign that Col Purohit andIndians were involved in Samjhauta. The Mahatashtra ATS submission to the Court is

intriguing and ought to be investigated [Para 16]

But the damage was done in 24 hours. Despite the fact that the ATS claim made in

November 2008 was untrue and the ATS itself had to retract in January 2009, it wassufficient to make Pakistan raise hue and cry about Col Purohit and the involvement ofother Indians in Samjhauta blast. The untrue statement of the Maharastra ATS was the start

of the talk of Indian involvement in the Samjhauta blast and the anti climax in the

investigation into the blast.

1.

The Maharashtra ATS submission to the Court, which alone linked India, Indians and the

present accused to the Samjhauta blast, is very intriguing and needs to be thoroughly

investigated. This is particularly so in the context of the subsequent admission of the

Maharashtra ATS on 20.2.2009 that it has not found any evidence of Purohit or the other ten

members of the group involved in the Malegaon blast having played a role in any other blasts,

Raghuvanshi said.

But subsequent to the Maharastra ATS statement in November 2008 and retraction in

2009, torrent of solid evidence of Pakistani Jihadi involvement in the blast began coming

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out in the public domain. [Para 17]

After the Maharashtra ATS intriguingly linked the Malegaon blast with the Samjhauta blast,

which proved completely false, a torrent evidence of the involvement of Pakistan and

Pakistan based terrorists and terror outfits in the Samjhauta blast began coming out in thepublic domain. The evidence thus became available in the public domain are:

1.

(a) The resolution of the Committee on sanctions of the United Nations Security Council [ in

June 2009] and the public declaration of the US Treasury Department [in July 2009] to the

effect that one Arif Qasmani, the chief coordinator of LeT, had funded the Samjhauta blast

with the Al Qaeda providing the staff for the blast;

(b) The admission of Pakistans interior minister [in Janury 2010] that Pakistani terroristswere hired for the blast;

(c) The confession of Faiza Outalha, the third of wife of David Coleman Headley [in 2008,

made public in 2010] that Headley was involved in the Samjhauta blast and she was also

innocently involved; and

(d) The SIMI leaders testimony under narco effect [in 2007 made public in 2008] that they

had provided support for the Pakistanis involved in attack;

But the NIA completely ignored and suppressed such leads and evidence as explained

herein.

First, the US Treasury Department announced in July 2009 saying that Arif Qasmani, the

chief coordinator of LeT worked with LeT to facilitate the Samjhauta attack [Para 18]

While the narco revelation of SIMI leaders showed that they were involved with and assistedPakistanis in executing the blasts, a more credible evidence from a totally a neutralsource surfaced later in July 2009 pointing to the involvement of LeT and Pakistanis in the

Samjhauta blast. This also corroborated the version of SIMI head Safdar Nagori and hiscolleagues, who pointed to Pakistan terrorists as the offenders. On July 1, 2009 the

Department of Treasury United States of American issued a press release in which It hadcharted that one of the four terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba [LeT] targeted by ithad organized the terror attack on Samjhauta Express. The press room of US Treasury

1.

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Ibrahim Kaskar (QI.K.135.03), an Indian known criminal on the List for its support of

terrorism, to facilitate the bomb attack in July 2006 in Mumbai trains. Qasmani also

conducted fundraising activities on behalf of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in late 2005.

Arif Qasmani also provided financial and other support to Al-Qaida (QE.A.4.01). In late 2006,

provided funds to Al-Qaida members and facilitated the return of foreign fighters in theirrespective countries. Between 2004 and 2005, gave to Al Qaida and weapons supplies and

facilitated the entry and exit of Afghanistan to leaders of Al Qaeda. In exchange for their

support, Al-Qaida Qasmani provided support staff for the July 2006 bombings on trains in

Mumbai and February 2007 in the Samjhauta Express in Panipat. In 2001 Qasmani also

facilitated the departure from Afghanistan of Al Qaeda agents in 2005, gave Taliban leaders a

way to introduce personnel, equipment and weapons smuggled into Afghanistan.

Quote:

[Emphasis added]

http://www.un.org/spanish/sc/committees/1267/NSQIQ27109S.shtml

The text of the UNSC committee on sanctions is attached hereto and marked as Annex D.

It is evident from the US Treasury Department press release of July 2009 and the UNSC

committee decision amonth earlier in June 2009 that Arif Qasmani, has worked with LeT, inthe bomb on the Samjhauta Express in Panipat. The UNSC committee also specifically mentions

that Al Qaeda had provided the staff for the terror attack on Samjhauta express, in exchange

for the financial help provided by Arif Qasmani.

The question is what did the Haryana ATS and later the NIA did with this credible leads from

two credible sources.

Third, subsequently in January 2010, Pakistans interior minister Rehman Mallik publicly

admitted Pakistans involvement in Samjhauta saying that Col Purohit had hired Pakistani

extremists to attack Samjhauta [Paras 20]

That Pakistani terrorists were involved in the Samjhauta blast was explicitly admitted in

public in January 2010 by Rehman Mallik, the Interior Minister of Pakistan, as evident fromthe report in The Dawn newspaper in Pakistan. See below:

1.

Quote:

Islamabad, Jan. 23 (ANI): Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has blamed India for not

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f d b i 2008 M b i b bi S b i R ll



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forewarned about suspect in 2008 Mumbai bombings Sebastian Rotella wrote:

Quote:

"She said Headley had been given a special mission and that he had both U.S. and Pakistani

passports," the senior anti-terror official said. "She said she felt she had been innocently used

in an express train bombing" in India that had killed 68 people in 2007.

Unquote

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/11/05/AR2010110506271_3.html?sid=ST2010110505086

In The Washington Post edition dated 14.11.2010, in an article titled An intricate plot

unleashed in Mumbai, the West confronts a new threat, Sebastian Rotella again wrote:

Quote:

In April 2008, Headley's Moroccan wife returned to the embassy in Islamabad with another tip.

She warned that her husband was on "a special mission."She also linked him to a 2007 train

bombing in India that had killed 68 people and that India and the United States blamed on

Lashkar, U.S. officials say. Authorities have not implicated Headley in that still-unsolved

attack, however.

Unquote

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/11

/14/AR2010111404515_3.html?sid=ST2010110505086

The above investigative exposes by Sebastian Rotella was carried in greater detail inProPublica, a news website, on 5.11.2010 and again on 26.1.2011 in ProPublica. ProPublica,

is an independent, non-profit newsroom led by Paul Steiger, the former managing editor ofThe Wall Street Journal. Stephen Engelberg, a former managing editor of The Oregonian,Portland, Oregon with the former investigative editor of The New York Times, as

1.

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ProPublicas managing editor and Richard Tofel the former assistant publisher of The Wall



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ProPublicas managing editor and Richard Tofel, the former assistant publisher of The WallStreet Journal, as its general manager, which produces independent journalism in public

interest. In her the investigative story Newly Discovered warnings about Headley revealtroubling timeline for Mumbai case [5.11.2010] Sebtastian Rotella wrote:

Quote:

In December 2007, Headley's Moroccan wife went to the U.S. embassy in Pakistan with what

would become the fourth tip. She met with agents of the State Department's Bureau of

Diplomatic Security and of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The wife hoped to get a U.S. visa and was angry at her estranged husband, officials say.

During two meetings, she told them Headley was involved with "big people" and "looking to

participate in jihad against the U.S." She mentioned suicide bombing and terror training but

without "actionable details," officials say.

A State Department security officer forwarded the information to the CIA station chief and

the FBI legal attach, but both decided the allegations were too general to pursue, officials

said.

The senior anti-terror official who spoke with ProPublica said the agents in Islamabad did not

know about all the previous tips. But the other federal official said that hasn't beenconfirmed.

"I can't rule out that they had access," that official said.

The Moroccan wife returned to the embassy in Islamabad and offered another, more specific

warning four months later, in April 2008, officials say.

"She said Headley had been given a special mission and that he had both U.S. and

Pakistani passports," the senior anti-terror official said. "She said she felt she had been

innocently used in an express train bombing" in India in 2007.

The allegations again connected Headley to Lashkar and, for the first time, to a terrorist

attack.

In July 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department accused a chief coordinator for Lashkar of playing

a central role in the bombing of the Samjhauta express train, which killed 68 people. Indian

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investigators have recently pursued theories that Hindu militants were behind the attack No



29/49

investigators have recently pursued theories that Hindu militants were behind the attack. No

link to Headley has been disclosed.

The Moroccan wife's description of a "special mission" was accurate: Thanks to Headley's

reconnaissance trips, Lashkar was finalizing its plan to strike Mumbai at the time of her

warning.

Unquote:

http://www.propublica.org/article/newly-discovered-warnings-about-headley-reveal-

a-troubling-timeline-in-mumb

The report is from a totally neutral source. It is not the view of opinion of any person. It is theextra-judicial admission of Faiza who not only admits that her husband David Headley was

involved in the Samjhauta blast, but also confesses that she had been used [by her husband

and terrorist Headley] in the blast in India in 2007. Even though the admission/confession does

not say specifically that it was Samjhauta, it was clear that Samjhauta blast being the only

train blast in India in 2007 in which 68 persons had died, the reference in Faiza Outalhas

confession is undoubtedly to Samjhauta blast. The investigative story, as appearing in

ProPublica website, is attached hereto and marked as Annex E

Fifth, the US media again confirmed in January 2011 that Faiza Outalha had made the

extra judicial confession of her involvement to the US Intelligence in April 2008 itself

[Paras 23-25]

Again, the ProPublica published another investigative write up dated 26.1.2011, titledPakistan and the Mumbai attacks the untold story again by Sebastian Rotella which againcited the extra judicial confession of Faiza Outalha and exposed the role of David Coleman

Headley in Samjhauta blast as under:

1.

Quote:

In April 2008, Headley's Moroccan wife returned to the U.S. embassy in Islamabad with

another, more specific tip. She warned that her husband was on "a special mission." She also

linked him to a 2007 train bombing in India that had killed 68 people and that India and

the United States blamed on Lashkar at the time, U.S. officials say. Authorities haven't

implicated Headley in that still-unsolved attack, however. It is not known how the U.S.

Embassy personnel responded to the wife's allegations, but officials say the tip didn't reachthe FBI until after the Mumbai attacks.[emphasis added]

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Each one of these is a specific lead, which cannot be ignored in any fair investigation and by

any fair investigating agency. Significantly The NIA had questioned Faiza and Headley in

connection with the Mumbai blast; But it did not question either of them in connection with

the Samjhauta blast;

This evidence in the form of extra judicial confession of Faiza Outalha, and thedeclarations of US government and the United Nations on Arif Qasmani and LeT and AlQaeda as being involved clearly corroborated by the Narco Tests on the SIMI leaders in the

year 2007 by the Indian police. So when the NIA filed the present charge sheet against theaccused named in the said charge sheet the NIA had all other pieces of evidence other thanthe extra judicial confession of Faiza Outalha. But obviously and deliberately the NIA did

not pursue the said evidence. The following inevitable questions arise:

1.

Why did not the NIA name Arif Qasmani as suspect/accused in the Samjhauta blast?1.

Why it did not seek the extradition of Arif Qasmani from Pakistan?1.

The other questions, which arise, are:

What effort did the NIA make to secure the evidence on the basis of which the UNSC had

declared Arif Qasmani as the accused in the Samjhauta blast?

1.

What effort did it make to secure the evidence on the basis of which the US TreasuryDepartment had declared Arif Qasmani as the offender in the Samjhauta blast case?

1.

Did the NIA write to the Ministry of External Affairs [MEA] or the Interpol directly for

assistance from the US and the UN in the above?

1.

Whether it asked the MEA to seek the co-operation of the group established between Indiaand Pakistan for sharing of the information?

1.

If the NIA had not done any of these things, the investigation done by it is not worth the piece

of paper on which is written, and if the NIA had done all these, the documents exchanged in

this respect would be extremely relevant for the defense of the accused as unless the

documents show clearly that the US and UN had erred in their declarations which hold good

even today, the innocence of the Appellant and other accused in the case would stand

established, unless the US and UN are proved wrong.

It is also necessary to know what did the NIA do with the narco test results of the SIMI

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33/49


34/49

Of the four-member team to investigate and question Headley, three were from India's

N ti l I ti ti A (NIA) L k th B h S P k h P i d l t b t t



35/49

National Investigation Agency (NIA) Loknath Behera, Swayam Prakash Pani and last but not

least my buddy Sajid Farid Shapoo.

There were rumors saying that David Headley gave the NIA the run around and was very

evasive in his replies to their questions. One article reported, The National Investigating

Agency (NIA) is not confirming rumors that David Coleman Headley, the 26/11 accused, is

being uncooperative but the team is in Chicago for another week at least and are expected to

meet with Headley again if not a few more times.

Indian officials have openly asked for additional access to David Headley and for further

questioning. Why would the NIA need to grill Headley again? If he was cooperative or if the

questioning was sufficient there would be no need for further interrogation. I am guessing

that unlike with the U.S. authorities, Headley was not very cooperative with the NIA. Until

now the NIA wish for further access has not be granted and probably never will.

CASE CLOSED

Recently, in a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York at the end of September,

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake briefed

reporters on the meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and India's External

Affairs Minister S M Krishna concerning David Coleman Headley. According to a published

article by Rediff, Blake told reporters,

The issue of direct and complete access to Pakistani American and Lashkar operative David

Coleman had not come up at all at these talks. As far as the US was concerned, it was a closed

chapter, he said.

Blake continues, So, I think, as far as we are concerned, this matter is closed,and again,

we continue to be very pleased with the very strong counter-terrorism cooperation we havewith India."

Blake asserted, "Again, the Indian team got access and I think they left satisfied with the

accessthat they received. So, we consider that particular chapter closed."

Unquote:

[http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=625037]

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heard the case for the expeditious disposal of the trial, in this case, but the fact remains

that, the trial is not complete even after a period of 20 years. It is indeed a virtual collapse

f th I di j di i l t Th di t j ti d l d i j ti d i d l fit i thi



42/49

of the Indian judicial system. The dictum justice delayed is justice denied amply fits in this

case.

The above book was written in 1996. But even now, the trial is not over. Mr Arun Shourie

testified before the trial court in the year 2008, when he stood by all that he wrote on the

case.

In an article titled Timeless mystery Sudhir Ranjan Sen wrote in the Indian Express on

18.9.2005 thus:

Quote:

No murder trial in India has perhaps gone on for so long. On January 2, 1975, at a function to

inaugurate a broad gauge line between Samastipur and Muzaffarpur in Bihar, a grenade was

lobbed into the dias, severely injuring then union railway minister, Lalit Narayan Mishra. He

died later.

A close confidant of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Mishras influence was growing rapidly

in Bihar when it came to an abrupt end. Believed to be the key fund collector for the party,

Mishra had taken on stalwarts of the Congress to make his way into the Congress Working

Party (CWC) days before the grenade attack.

MISHRAS death was followed by a chain of unexplained events. Why he was taken from

Samastipur to a small railway hospital in Danapur almost 150 km metres away when better

medical facilities were available just 30 minutes away at Dharbangha still remains a question.

And then why wasnt the train carrying him made to stop at Patna where he could have got

better treatment? It was also alleged that the train was held up at several places, delaying

treatment that could have saved Mishra.

What was even more curious was that no post mortem was ever carried out. CHARGES were

filed against 10 people, most of whom were members of the controversial sect, the Anand

Marg. Of the 10, only seven were arrested. One of the accused has since died. The prosecution

claimed that the attack was part of an deliberate campaign of the Anand Marg to seek the

release of its arrested founder leader Anand Murthy P R Sarkar.

The prosecutions case is that the Anand Margis wanted to terrorize the government in order

to make them submit to their demands.

42 of 49 2/9/2014 12:30 AM

One of the key reasons that conspiracy theories and counter theories have continued to



43/49

f y p y

flourish is because those who benefitted from the murder came out clean in the

investigations. And the Anand Marg which had really very little to benefit, was found to be

responsible for the murder.

LAST week at the Patiala House court in Delhi where the case is being tried, L N Mishras

brother and former chief minister of Bihar, Jaganath Mishra, reiterated his belief that there

was a larger conspiracy to the murder than the mere involvement of the Anand Margis. His

allegation has cast a cloud over the prosecutions case.

CASE FILE Circle of blame Anand Margis were accused of carrying out the attack on Mishra.

It was said to be part of a terror campaign to get their arrested leader freed The LN Mishra

case was perhaps the first to be moved out to another state. It was transferred from Bihar to

Delhi Last week at the Delhi court, L N Mishras brother and former chief minister of Bihar,

Jaganath Mishra, reiterated his belief that there was a larger conspiracy to the murder than

meets the eye. The L N Mishra murder case has been a first in so more than one instance. It

was the first time that an organised groupif the prosecution story is to be believedcarried

out a deliberate attack to terrorise the government to secure the release of its arrested

leader. It was also the first time that a murder trial was transferred out to another state as it

was feared that evidence and crucual witnesses were being threatened. Its also a rare case

where the trial has stretched for over 30 years.

TIME has only added more layers of amiguities to the existing ones. The case has been through

all the courts including the apex court. The prosecuting agencyCBIhas appealed several

times in the trial court for a day to day hearing for quick disposal. In the last 30 years

there have been 719 hearings out of which 625 were effective hearings.

Till the verdict is announced, conspiracy theories will continue to do the rounds. As they have

been for the last thirty years.

Unquote:

This report was in the year 2005. By that time 30 years were over and the trial was continuing.

On April 4, 2008, Mr Arun Shourie was examined by the trial court as defense witness. The

Bihar Times reported:

Quote:

43 of 49 2/9/2014 12:30 AM

Former cabinet minister run Shourie Thursday told a court here Thursday that he stood by the

articles on the 1975 murder of Congress leader L.N. Mishra published by The Indian Express. In

his statement in the court of Additional District Judge M C Garg Shourie said he wrote in



44/49

his statement in the court of Additional District Judge M.C. Garg, Shourie said he wrote in

1978 about the murder.

He said that erstwhile chief reporter B.M. Sinha wrote the other articles in the daily in

consultation with him.

I stood by those articles I had also written two articles in the daily about the probe carried

out by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), he said.

The court summoned him March 12 to depose as a defence witness. However, his cross-

examination remained incomplete. The court posted the matter for further hearing to the

first week of May.

The case has dragged on for 33 years in lower courts and has been heard by 19 judges - but

the court is still recording the statements of defence witnesses.

With its documents running into about 11,000 pages, it is perhaps the oldest case in the files

of the CBI.

While one of the eight accused, all from the Hindu sect Anand Marg, has died, four defence

lawyers have also passed away during the course of the trial.

Mishra, a confidant of then prime minister Indira Gandhi, visited Samastipur in Bihar Jan 2,

1975 to declare open a broad gauge line.

A grenade was lobbed on the dais where he was present, injuring him seriously. He was takento Danapur where he died a day later.

The chain of events following the attack further deepened the mystery shrouding what was

seen as the countrys first political killing.

Mishra was taken from Samastipur to a small railway hospital in Danapur almost 150 km away

when better medical facilities were available just 30 minutes away in Darbhanga.

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Quote:



46/49

Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday said there are nine documented cases involving

Hindu extremist groups making bombs and killing people and BJP is targeting selective

Ministers because the UPA government has quickened investigations into them.

He said the objective of these fundamentalist groups was to clearly create terror and the

government has to deal with that.

Interacting with PTI journalists, Mr. Chidambaram said BJPs attack could also be due to the

fact that the government has persuaded the court to hear two Ayodhya cases on a more or

less day-to-day basis.

He was replying to a question why he was being targeted by the BJP linking him to the

2G-scam.

I think they know that there is no connection to the so called scam in 2G. I think they are

targeting selected Ministers for other reasons, he said.

Mr. Chidambaram said he could not think of any other reason. I think the reason is that they

think this government is seriously pursuing the bomb blast cases where right-wing

fundamentalists elements are involved. Clearly many of those right wing fundamentalist

elements are linked to the RSS.

Asked about Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singhs statement that right-wing forces

were bomb making factories, he said I dont know whether there are bomb making factories.

I know that they make bombs and these bombs have exploded.

To a question about the massacre by a suspected right-wing man in Norway and the dangers of

right wing terror in India, the Home Minister said there are documented cases of right wing

fundamentalists terror in India.

NIA is investigating seven plus two, nine cases. The two are Goa cases. Seven are cases that

happened elsewhere where the objective was clearly to create terror. These are difficult

times when we have to deal with fundamentalist terrorists groups belonging to different

religions, he said.

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case by an independent Special Investigation Team must be carried out the under the

supervision of the judiciary.



48/49

Otherwise besides that there would be total miscarriage of justice both ways -- not only by

torturing the innocent, but also by letting free the real offenders.

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Date post:	04-Jun-2018
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Samjhauta Blast Case Counter Investigation to NIA Investigation - The New Indian Express

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