India filed charges against five Hindu activists for their involvement in with the terrorist attack on the Samjhota Express that killed 68 people in 2007.
According to Bloomberg, two of the accused are in custody, one is dead and two others are absconding, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement in New Delhi on Monday.
The National Investigation Agency told a special court in Haryana that the men conspired to cause the blasts to avenge attacks on Hindu temples, the statement said.
Explosions ripped through two carriages of the Samjhota Express near Panipat, about 90 kilometres north of New Delhi, on February 18, 2007. Most of those killed were Pakistanis travelling home. Indian investigators initially suspected terrorist groups based in Pakistan to be responsible for the explosions aboard the biweekly service that linked New Delhi and Lahore. India and Pakistan said the attack was aimed at disrupting their peace process.
Holding religious groups responsible for a series of blasts at Hindu temples in India, the accused had sought revenge against the Muslim community, according to the statement. The train was chosen as a target most of the passengers who travel on it are Pakistanis, it said.
One of those charged today, Swami Aseemanand, also known as Naba Kumar Sarkar, “not only provided financial and logistical support to the terror group which executed” the bombing “but also played a vital role in instigating and motivating his associates to undertake this terrorist act”, said the statement.
Aseemanand on May 12 denied any role in the blasts when he appeared at a bail hearing, the Press Trust of India reported. Aseemanand was earlier charged by the NIA as one of the main conspirators behind a 2007 bombing at a mosque in Hyderabad that killed nine people.
According to Hindustan Times, New Delhi is expected to cite the filing of the charge sheet in the case and ask Pakistan to reciprocate by taking action against the 26/11 accused during the upcoming foreign secretary-level talks.
Quoting official sources, the paper said the naming of Aseemanand and the four others in the charge sheet is expected to be shared with Pakistan during this week’s talks where New Delhi will press for strong action against those involved in the Mumbai attacks. “By filing the charge sheet, India has demonstrated its sincerity in tackling the terror of any form. Now, it is Pakistan’s responsibility to show its commitment to deal with terrorists and terror groups,” a source said.
