2007 Samjhauta Express bombings

Last updated

Samjhauta Express bombing
Location Diwana, Panipat, Haryana, India
Date18 February 2007
23:53 (UTC +5:30)
Target Samjhauta Express train
Weapons Bombs
Deaths70
Injured50
Accused Lashkar-e-Taiba [1] [2] Abhinav Bharat [3]

The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. [4] [5] Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi. [4] [6] 70 people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured. [7] Of the 70 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians. The victims also included some Indian civilians and three railway policemen. [8]

Contents

Investigators subsequently found evidence of suitcases with explosives and flammable material, including three undetonated bombs. Inside one of the undetonated suitcases, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was packed alongside a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and chemicals. [8] After the bombing, eight unaffected carriages were allowed to continue onwards to Lahore with passengers.

Both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to disrupt improving relations between the two nations, since the attack came just a day before Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri was to arrive in New Delhi to resume peace talks with Indian leaders. [5]

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged eight people in the terrorist attack, including Swami Aseemanand, a Hindu cleric formerly affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. [9] While Aseemanand has been released on bail, three persons charged in the case are absconding, and three others are in prison. The alleged mastermind, Sunil Joshi, was killed in 2007. In 2019, NIA court has acquitted all the accused. [9]

It has been allegedly linked to Abhinav Bharat, a Hindu fundamentalist group in India. [3] Allegations were also concurred on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), an Islamic fundamentalist terror group in Pakistan. [10] A United States report declared Arif Qasmani to be involved in the attack. [11] Consequently, he was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States and designated by the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council for facilitating the LeT in "the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India, and the February 2007 Samjota Express bombing in Panipat, India." [12] [13] [14]

Questions were raised over a Pakistani national who was arrested after the bombings for not carrying valid papers and was seen as suspicious by the investigators, but was discharged within 14 days according to a statement of the first investigation officer assigned to the case. A court order had noted the statement of the police that no proof had been found against him, which was also stated later by one of the senior officers. [15] [16] [17]

A narco-analysis test was conducted on SIMI's leaders Safdar Nagori, Kamruddin Nagori and Amil Parvez who had stated about Abdul Razzaq's involvement in the blasts and him informing Safdar about it. [18] Times Now had broadcast a video of the test in 2017. [19] The later statements of Swami Aseemanand of Sunil Joshi telling him of involvement of his men in the blast had caused confusion for the investigators. [20] One of the investigating officers stated in 2016 that they had investigated the Islamists including Safdar but didn't find them involved. [21] Razzaq who had been in prison since 2005 had been interrogated and had brought Qasmani to the notice of Intelligence Bureau as a key Lashkar financier. He was questioned regarding the case, but no evidence of his involvement were found. Some officers had also questioned the reliability of narco-analysis. [22]

Background

Since their formation resulting from the Partition of India in 1947, India and Pakistan have had a conflict-ridden relationship. In their plan for the partition, the British allowed all 565 princely states to decide which country they wanted to join. [23] Most Hindu-majority princely states acceded to the Republic of India, while most Muslim-majority princely states joined the Dominion (now Islamic Republic) of Pakistan. The decision made by the leaders of some of these princely states has been a source of conflict and tension between the two countries. Kashmir is one of these princely states—its population was mostly Muslim, but the Hindu ruler Hari Singh of the state decided to join India. [23] The countries have fought four wars over this disputed region: the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (resulting in the formation of Bangladesh), and the Kargil War in 1999. [24] Since the 1980s, militants in Jammu and Kashmir have targeted attacks on civilians, members of the government and the Indian Army. Some groups, like the Islamist militant organisations Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, believe that Kashmir should be integrated into Pakistan, while others—such as the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front—believe it should become an independent state. All told, thousands of civilians have died due to the insurgency. [25] [26]

In recent years, the Indian and Pakistani governments have made attempts to bring peace or to at least calm the tensions between the countries. One such attempt in the peace process came with the launch of the Samjhauta Express, so-named because the word samjhauta means "accord" and "compromise" in Hindi and Urdu, respectively. This twice-weekly train service runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Wagah and Lahore in Pakistan. [27] Launched in 1976, the Samjhauta Express served as the only rail connection between the two countries until the launch of the Thar Express. Given the nature of the transnational service and the ongoing violence in the region, the Samjhauta Express was always heavily guarded, as it was a high-risk target for terrorist attacks. Weeks after the Indian Parliament terrorist attack on 13 December 2001, the train service was discontinued amid security concerns. [28] Although it resumed service on 15 January 2004, the train was placed on high security. Just days before the attack, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri announced that he was going to Delhi on 21 February 2007 to meet with Indian government officials to continue peace talks and to sign a nuclear risk reduction agreement. [29]

Details

India Haryana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Panipat
class=notpageimage|
Location of Panipat within the state of Haryana

Twin blasts shook two coaches of the Samjhauta Express travelling between India and Pakistan at around 23:53 IST (18:23 UTC) on Sunday, 18 February 2007, shortly after the train had passed through the railway station in the village of Diwana, near the Indian city of Panipat. [30] One railway employee manning the level crossing at the time stated:

It was about 11.52 when I showed the signal lantern to the Attari [Samjhauta] Express which was coming in very fast, probably at over 100 kilometers an hour (62.1 mph). Just as [it] reached near the home signal, I could hear two loud explosions from the coaches near the guards' van at the rear. [6]

After the explosions, both carriages were engulfed in flames and many passengers were incapacitated by the smoke. Witnesses claim to have seen passengers screaming and attempting to escape, but since most of the train's windows were barred for security reasons, many could not escape in time. The injured were pulled out of the burning carriages by fellow passengers and local residents. [4]

Victims

In the end, the terrorist attack left 68 people dead (43 Pakistan citizens, 10 Indian citizens and 15 unidentified) and 50 injured. [29] Initial identification of the victims was hindered by the fact that many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. [8] The rest of the train, which was left undamaged by the attack, continued on to the border town of Attari. [8] There, passengers were transferred to a Pakistani train which took them to their destination in Lahore. [8]

Aftermath

On 23 February, a Pakistani Air Force C-130 plane landed, upon being granted approval, in New Delhi to evacuate Pakistanis injured in the train bombing. Of the ten people to be evacuated, three were missing, all from the same family. Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson, Tasneem Aslam, claimed that the father, Rana Shaukat Ali, was harassed by Indian intelligence agency personnel at the Safdarjung Hospital. Aslam also said that Pakistan High Commission officials were denied entrance into the hospital. An Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Navtej Sarna, denied these allegations and stated that the patients would be taken to the airport. Sarna told the press that Ali's family was not missing, and that hospital doctors had decided not to allow Pakistani officials access into the hospital. [31] He also stated that the C-130 plane had developed a problem and could not take off. Later, Aslam told press correspondents that the "[C-130] aircraft was still at the airport" and that Mr. Ali had chosen to travel back to Pakistan via a land route. [32]

Despite the tensions between the two countries' External Affairs ministries, the C-130 aircraft took off from New Delhi at around 21:00 local time. [31] After the incident, Ali criticised the media, who asked him for "stories for their publications at a time when I am not in my senses because of the death of my five children." [33] He also stated that Indian officials showed him sketches of suspects, but he could not identify them. [33]

Meanwhile, the Indian and Pakistan governments agreed to a bilateral pact to extend passenger train and freight services between the two countries until 2010. [34] In late April, the Indian and Pakistan governments initiated steps for safety and security measures for the Samjhauta Express. The two countries started sharing information on passengers travelling on the trains. The train is now under a reservation system, and as one Railway Ministry source said, "[w]ith no unreserved coaches, we now have complete passenger details from their ticket reservation data a few hours prior to their boarding, and departure of the train." [35] Also in late April, three new coaches equipped with India's most advanced fire fighting systems were added to the Samjhauta Express. Indian Railway Ministry sources commented that the system acts with brake pressure, and this glass-encased system could throw water up to 15 metres (49 ft). [36]

Investigation

The day after the bombing, Indian police stated that the suitcase bomb attack was the work of at least four or five people with a possible militant connection. [37] The police also released sketches of two suspects who the police Inspector General said had left the train just fifteen minutes before the explosions. [37] The police say that one of the men was around 35 or 36 years old, "plumpish" and dark, with a moustache, and the second was around 26 or 27, wearing a scarf wrapped around his head. The police also stated that both men were speaking Hindi. [38] 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 state railway police official said that the man's "account has been inconsistent and we have no definite conclusions yet." [39] Later, the Inspector General said "the suitcase was thrown on the track" and that the Pakistani national "was there and said he had thrown it." [37]

In early March, Haryana police arrested two people from the city of Indore who allegedly sold the suitcases used in the bombing. [40] No charges were pressed on the individuals. A probe conducted by the commissioner of Railway Safety officially determined that the explosions and fire on the Samjhauta Express had been caused by bombs located in the upper compartments in coaches GS 03431 and GS 14857. [41] The probe also showed that the train slowed to a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12 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. [42] On 31 March, a 25-year-old man was interrogated after being arrested in Amritsar after jumping off a moving train under suspicious circumstances. [43]

In November 2008, it was reported that Indian officials suspected the attacks were linked to Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, an Indian army officer also alleged member of Hindu nationalist group Abhinav Bharat. [44] Purohit himself claimed that he had "infiltrated" the Abhinav Bharat and he was only doing his job. [45] During an army's Court of Inquiry as many as 59 witnesses stated to the court that Purohit was doing his job (of gathering intelligence inputs) by infiltrating extremist organizations. [46] Officers have testified that he was doing what he was asked to do as a military intelligence man. [46]

Investigators concluded that the suitcases used to make the suitcase bombs originated from Indore in India, based on their stitching. [47] Indian officials said they were prepared to share their findings with Pakistan. [48]

In January 2010, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik accused India of not pursuing the case seriously, and of refusing to divulge details about the role of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit. [49] Malik alleged that Purohit had hired Pakistani extremists to carry out the bombing. [49] In October 2010, an 806-page chargesheet prepared by the Rajasthan anti-terrorist squad revealed that the Samjhauta Express had been discussed as a potential target for an attack at a meeting of Hindutva bomb makers in February 2006; the group subsequently travelled to Indore. [50]

In April 2016, Director General of NIA requested the United States government to provide information on LeT Key financier Arif Qasmani. The US charge sheet in 2009 accused Qasmani of funding the blasts. [51] Later, in April 2016, NIA declared that Lt Col Purohit was never an accused in the case and there was no evidence of his involvement in the bombing. [52] Per India TV, top police officials in a meeting on 21 July 2010 had decided to hand over the investigation to NIA as Haryana Police failed to bring the case to any logical conclusion and had also decided to probe the role of Hindu groups. The Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hinted the UPA government had planted the angle of role of "Hindu terror" and questioned the suspect's release. [15]

Accused

On 30 December 2010, National Investigation Agency claimed that they have solid evidence that Swami Aseemanand was the mastermind behind the blasts. He had roped in Sandeep Dange, an engineering graduate, and Ramji Kalsangra, an electrician, to build the improvised explosive devices used in the blasts. [53] On 8 January 2011, Aseemanand confessed that Saffron terror outfits were behind the bombing of Samjhauta express, [54] a statement his council later stated was obtained under duress. [55] Later RSS sent a legal notice to CBI accusing it for deliberately leaking Swami Aseemanand's confession in media. RSS spokesman Ram Madavh called the investigation maligning of organisations and individuals. [56] [57]

However, in late March 2011, Aseemanand came out and stated: "I have been pressurised mentally and physically by the investigating agencies to confess that I was behind these blasts." [58] Aseemanand was charged on 20 June 2011 for planning the blast. [59] In November 2011, Indian High Courts issued a stay notice to the National Intelligence Agency on the point that Aseemanand was tortured and coerced in prison and on the allegations that the investigation agency itself was biased by its association to the United Progressive Alliance government [60] In early 2012, commentators started questioning the "Hindu" angle to the terror attacks, noting both the existence of an equally plausible "Muslim" angle [61] and the near impossibility of proving any claims [62]

Many initial reports suggested that the prime suspects in the bombing were the Islamic groups Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, both of whom have been blamed for many high-profile bombings in the past. [63] On 1 July 2009, the United States Treasury and UNSC placed sanctions on Lashkar-e-Toiba, and named Arif Qasmani as having played a role in the bombing. [64] In 2009, Qasmani was hit with a travel ban and an asset freeze by the 1267 committee of the United Nations Security Council [65] Qasmani, as of 2011, was still the United States' main suspect in the Samjhauta bombing. [66] [67] [68]

On 12 February 2012, the National Investigation Agency of India arrested a suspect identified as Kamal Chouhan, former RSS worker from the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh and conducted intense questioning. According to sources, Chouhan had a possible role in planting the bomb in the train. Chouhan is believed to be a close aide of Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, two key Indian suspects in the case on whom the agency has announced a cash reward of ₹ 1 million for information of their whereabouts. [69] [70] The National Investigation Agency is likely to file a fresh chargesheet in a next couple of days which will name Kamal Chauhan and Amit Chauhan as the two alleged bombers who along with Lokesh Sharma and Rajendra Pehalwan allegedly planted the four suitcase bombs in the train. [71]

In late-June 2017, Times Now and India TV reported that a Pakistani national Ajmat Ali who was a suspect in the case were discharged within 14 days based on the statements of Gurdeep Singh who was the first investigation officer assigned to the case which were also mentioned in a deposition to a court 12 days earlier. Ali was arrested by Punjab police for not carrying valid papers and he was handed over to police of Haryana for interrogation. He was stated to match the description of the suspect who planted the bombs according to eyewitnesses and was accused of having used false identities by the police. Per a report, he had stated about undertaking reconnaissance of many prominent cities. He however was discharged by senior officials probing the case with the court order noting the police's statement that no proof had been found. [15] [16]

A report carried by The Hindu in July 2017 contained a statement of one of the senior officer Bharti Arora who had directed the suspect to be discharged, had headed the SIT at that time and was named by Gurdeep Singh in his statement, stated that his statement was being misread. She added that Ali was properly interrogated and discharged when nothing was found against him. She also stated that she would take legal action against the channel stating a sting report of letting-off the suspects in 14 days, for what she claimed was a "false report". NIA stated it would not investigate the claims about the case till court orders. [17]

The Hindustan Times carried a report in September 2008 of statements from the narco-analysis test conducted on SIMI's extremist wing chief Safdar Nagori as well as other leaders who were Kamruddin Nagori and Amil Parvez. Safdar at the time was of the blast was in a hospital in Madhya Pradesh due to a fractured hand. Per reports of the test, he stated that Abdul Razzaq was involved in the blast and had informed him the blasts would be carried out with the help of a few Pakistani nationals. Kamruddin and Amil Parvez had stated that Razzak was close to Nagori, had informed him and discussed about the blasts. Safdar however denied any meeting was held to plot the blast. [18] A video of Safdar's test was broadcast by Times Now in July 2017. [19] Rediff carried a report in 2011 that the later statements by Aseemanand on Sunil Joshi telling him of his role in the blasts had caused confusion among NIA and both the testimonies were contrary to each other. [20] Vikash Narain Rai, the former Haryana police officer who headed the SIT from 2007 to early 2010, told The Wire in June 2016 mentioned that the SIT's first suspect were Pakistan-based terror groups or organisations like SIMI, stating that they had investigated many Islamists including Nagori. He stated that it became clear they were not involved as investigations progressed. [21]

Per a report by The Indian Express Razzaq who had been in prison since August 2005 after being deported from Iran, was interrogated after Safdar's narcoanalysis and brought Qasmani to the attention of Intelligence Bureau as a Lashkar financier. Per diplomatic sources due to this a dossier was given with Qasmani's purported involvement to the United States which according to a note recording an informal meeting between the NIA probe team and FBI was the cause for sanctions by Treasury Department on him. Razzaq was questioned by Madhya Pradesh and Haryana Police regarding the blast, but no evidence of his involvement was stated to be found. Some police officers had also questioned the reliability of narcoanalysis, barred in USA and Europe, with a senior NIA officer stating that they had nothing but the statements of a man given under the effect of sodium pentathol. [22]

On 20 March 2019, Special NIA court acquitted all four accused."The NIA Special Court has concluded that the investigating agency has failed to prove the conspiracy charge and ruled that accused deserve a benefit of doubt", NIA Counsel RK Handa said. . [72]

Reactions

India

The Indian government and media initially began pointing the finger at Pakistan for the terror attacks. Widespread condemnation of Pakistan ensued, particularly from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, and Pakistan was accused of harbouring terrorists and intentionally derailing peace attempts with India. Indian Minister of Railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav, condemned the incident [73] and went on to say that the attack was "an attempt to derail the improving relationship between India and Pakistan." [30] He also announced compensation payments of Rs. 1,000,000 (approx. €17,500 or US$22,750) for the next-of-kin of each of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured. [74] Home Minister Shivraj Patil claimed that "whoever is behind the incident is against peace and wants to spoil our growing relationship with other countries". Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed "anguish and grief" at the loss of life, and vowed that the culprits would be caught. [4] India's foreign ministry also promised to issue visas for Pakistani relatives of those killed or injured in the blasts. [75] Indian journalist Siddharth Varadarajan argued that the peace process should stay on track and that any wavering would be tantamount to surrendering to terrorism. [76]

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the attacks and petitioned the ruling Indian National Congress to ask Pakistan to comply with its 2004 promise to crack down on cross-border terrorism. The party also argued for a harsher anti-terror bill to take a "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism in India. [77]

Pakistan

The government of Pakistan reacted in the same vein, through its Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, proclaiming that this was an act of terrorism that should be investigated by Indian authorities. Kasuri said that the terrorist attack would not halt his trip to India, as he "will be leaving tomorrow for Delhi to further the peace process." He went on to say that "we should hasten the peace process." [78] In response to the terrorist attack, President Pervez Musharraf stated "such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desired objective of sustainable peace between the two countries." [78] Musharraf also said that there must be a full Indian investigation of the attack. [4] In regards to the upcoming peace talks, he stated "we will not allow elements which want to sabotage the ongoing peace process to succeed in their nefarious designs." [8]

Others

In the United Kingdom, Foreign Office minister Kim Howells condemned what he termed "utterly shameful" attacks, offered his "condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured", and offered "the Governments of India and Pakistan whatever assistance they require, to bring to justice the perpetrators of this brutal attack." [79] [80] Leaders in the British Pakistani community called the terrorist attack a "despicable act" and urged for a speedy investigation into the tragedy so that those responsible could be arrested and jailed. [81]

In the United States, the Bush administration condemned those responsible for the bomb explosions aboard the Samjhauta Express.

Related Research Articles

The Students' Islamic Movement of India is a banned terrorist organisation that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the "liberation of India" by converting it to an Islamic land, or Dār al-'Islām. The SIMI, an organisation of extremists has declared Jihad against India, the aim of which is to establish Dār al-'Islām by converting everyone to Islam.

<i>Samjhauta Express</i> International train between India and Pakistan

The Samjhauta Express was a twice-weekly train, Thursday and Monday, that ran between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan. In Hindi–Urdu language. the word Samjhauta means an "agreement" or an "accord", especially one arising out of a compromise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Mumbai train bombings</span> 2006 terrorist attack on the Mumbai Suburban Railway by Lashkar-e-Taiba

The 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts on 11 July. They took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains plying on the Western Line Suburban Section of the Mumbai Division of Western Railway. The blasts killed 209 people and injured over 700 more.

The 2006 Malegaon bombings took place on 8 September 2006 in Malegaon, a town in the Nashik district of Indian state of Maharashtra, some 290 km northeast of Mumbai. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) initially blamed the bombings on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), but in a chargesheet filed in 2013 the NIA and ATS joint investigation and involved evidences pointed towards the involvement of eight members of extremist group Abhinav Bharat, who were later released from charges due to lack of evidence.

The Mecca Masjid blast occurred on 18 May 2007 inside the Mecca Masjid, a mosque located in the old city area of Hyderabad, capital of the Indian state of Telangana located very close to Charminar. The blast was caused by a cellphone-triggered pipe bomb placed near the site designated for ablution. Two further live IEDs were found and defused by the police. Sixteen people were reported dead in the immediate aftermath, of whom five were killed by the police firing after the incident while trying to quell the mob angered by what they considered police failure to protect the Muslims during their worship.

Safdar Nagori was the General-Secretary of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), an Islamist organization designated as a terrorist organization by the Government of India.

Transport between India and Pakistan has been developed for tourism and commercial purposes and bears much historical and political significance for both countries, which have possessed few transport links since the partition of India in 1947. In 2019, all public transport links between the two countries were severed because of Pakistani protest at India's revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The only way for travelers to make this journey is to cross on foot at Wagah.

Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamist terrorist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Yasin Bhatkal, Abdul Subhan Qureshi, Amir Reza Khan and Sadiq Israr Sheikh, among others. It has been active since at least 2005 when it bombed the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi. It carried out several serial-bombings in Indian cities in the following years notably the 2007 Uttar Pradesh bombings, 2008 Jaipur bombings, 2008 Ahmedabad bombings, 2008 Delhi bombings, 2010 Pune bombing, 2011 Mumbai bombings, 2011 Delhi bombing, 2013 Patna bombings, 2013 Hyderabad blasts and the 2013 Bodh Gaya bombings.

Abhinav Bharat is a Hindutva militant organization founded by retired Indian Army Major Ramesh Upadhyay in 2006 in Pune, India. It has a large base in Madhya Pradesh. The organization is believed to be the revived form of the pre-Independence era Abhinav Bharat Society. The activities of the organisations received widespread attention after Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested its member for the 2006 Malegaon bombings case. It has no relationship to the Mumbai-based charitable trust of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemant Karkare</span> Indian police officer and Ashoka Chakra recipient (1954–2008)

Hemant Kamlakar Karkare, was the chief of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). He was killed in action during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. In 2009, he was posthumously given the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry decoration.

Attribution of the 2008 Mumbai attacks were first made by the Indian authorities who said that the Mumbai attacks were directed by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants inside Pakistan. American intelligence agencies also agree with this attribution. Pakistan initially contested this attribution, but agreed this was the case on 7 January 2009. To back up its accusations, the Indian government supplied a dossier to Pakistan's high commission in Delhi. The Pakistan government dismissed the dossier as "not evidence," but also announced that it had detained over a hundred members of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity linked with Lashkar-e-Taiba. In February 2009, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik agreed that "some part of the conspiracy" did take place in Pakistan.

Hindu terrorism, sometimes called Hindutva terror or, metonymically, saffron terror, refer to terrorist acts carried out on the basis of motivations in broad association with Hindu nationalism or Hindutva.

The 2010 Pune bombing, also known as 13/7 and the German bakery blast, occurred on 13 February 2010 at approximately 19:15 Indian Standard Time, when a bomb exploded at a German bakery in the Indian city of Pune, Maharashtra. The blast killed 18 people, and injured at least 60 more, including an Italian woman, two Sudanese students and an Iranian student.

Swami Aseemanand is an ex-accused of masterminding the Ajmer Dargah bombing, Mecca Masjid blast, and the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings— before being acquitted of all charges.

The Ajmer Dargah bombing occurred on 11 October 2007, in the courtyard of Sufi maulana Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India, after the Iftar period had started. On 22 March 2017 a Special NIA Court convicted three Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Devendra Gupta, Bhavesh Bhai Patel and Sunil Joshi. In 2017, Joshi (posthumously) and Gupta were found guilty on charges of conspiracy and Patel was found guilty of planting the explosive on the blast site. Gupta and Patel were awarded life imprisonment. Joshi was found shot dead in Godhra in mysterious circumstances soon after the blast in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh.

Shah Riyaz Ahmad Mohammed Ismail Shahbandari, known as Riyaz Bhatkal, is the co-founder, leader and a wanted terrorist of Indian Mujahideen, a terrorist group based in India. Riyaz Ismail Shahbandri is one of the Indian Mujahideen's three top commanders and is currently based in Karachi, Pakistan along with his brother Iqbal Bhatkal.

The 2017 Bhopal–Ujjain Passenger train bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on March 7, on the Bhopal–Ujjain Passenger, a passenger train which runs between Bhopal Junction railway station of Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh and Ujjain Junction railway station. The bombing occurred at Jabri railway station in the Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh, injuring 10 passengers. It was stated to be the first-ever strike in India by the Islamic State. One of the suspected terrorists was later killed in an encounter in Lucknow. The police stated that the module was self-radicalised and did not receive any financial support from the group. Six persons were later arrested. National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe reports stated that the ISIS-inspired module had also conspired to bomb a rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Darsgah-Jihad-O-Shahadat is an Islamist group based in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, with branches in the state of Kerala. The group claims to have trained about 50,000 people in self-defence techniques at its training camps in Hazrat Ujale Shah Idgah grounds at Saidabad and Purani Haveli.

Diwana is a village situated in Haryana, India. It comes under district Panipat, municipality Panipat. The village is situated 10 km away from Panipat.

References

  1. ↑ FBI team in India, NIA to seek info on LeT’s Samjhauta link Hindustan Times – 13 May 2016
  2. ↑ Lashkar-e-Toiba carried out deadly 2007 Samjhauta Express blasts: NIA to submit this US intel report in court Zee News – 23 May 2016
  3. 1 2 The Mirror Explodes Archived 29 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine – Outlook – 19 July 2010
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dozens dead in India train blast". BBC News. 19 February 2007. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  5. 1 2 Naqvi, Muneeza (19 February 2007). "66 Die in India-Pakistan Train Attack". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  6. 1 2 Rao, Hitender (19 February 2007). "66 killed as Samjhauta Express becomes terror target". Hindustan Times. India. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  7. ↑ "Toll reaches to 68 in Samjhauta Express explosions". Islamic Republic News Agency . 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 24 February 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rajesh, Y. P. (19 February 2007). "At least 66 killed in India-Pakistan train blast". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  9. 1 2 "Samjhauta Express blast verdict held up over Pakistani national's last-minute plea". Hindustan Times. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  10. ↑ US review finds five warnings of Headley's militant links DNA India – 8 November 2010
  11. ↑ "US sanctions Pak Lashkar man, cites his Samjhauta blast link - Indian Express". indianexpress (archive).
  12. ↑ "QASMANI, Arif". Office of Foreign Assets Control . US Treasury.
  13. ↑ "ARIF QASMANI". United Nations Security Council . Qasmani has worked with LeT to facilitate terrorist attacks, including the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India, and the February 2007 Samjota Express bombing in Panipat, India.
  14. ↑ Raju, Radhavinod. "Samjhauta Express Blast Vs Mumbai Terror Attacks". Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. Retrieved 25 February 2013. The case was under investigation with the Haryana police who could not make any headway after their probe led to a tailor in Indore who had prepared the cover of the suitcase in which the bombs were planted. After over three years, the probe was handed over to the National Investigation Agency in the middle of 2010 by the Central government. At that time, there were reports that the Hindu right-wing groups that were involved in the Malegaon and Ajmer blasts were also involved in the Samjhauta Express blast. The Americans had in the meanwhile, in early 2009, identified a Pakistani, Asif Kasmani, of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, as involved in the Samjhauta Express blast, and moved the UN to declare him as an international terrorist. Americans generally do not make such claims easily. Did they have some clue, or evidence that the Indian investigators missed? The investigators had therefore to move carefully and look at unimpeachable evidence to come to any conclusion about the actual perpetrators.
  15. 1 2 3 "Samjhauta probe: Ravi Shankar questions UPA 'cover-up'". Times of India. 22 June 2017.
  16. 1 2 "Samjhauta Express blast: How officials connived to ensure prime accused Pakistani national was let off despite evidence to nail him". India TV. 21 June 2017.
  17. 1 2 Singh, Vijaita (9 July 2017). "Pak. man not involved in Samjhauta case". The Hindu.
  18. 1 2 "Narco tests show Nagoru knew about Samjhauta blasts". The Hindustan times.
  19. 1 2 "Samjhauta blast: SIMI man's narco test 'nails' Pak angle". Times of India. 25 July 2017.
  20. 1 2 "Samjhauta blasts: A tale of two confessions". Rediff. pp. 1, 4.
  21. 1 2 "As NIA Now Pursues Islamist Angle, Investigator Sees Clear Hindutva Link to Samjhauta Bombing". The Wire.
  22. 1 2 "Samjhauta blast: UNSC still blames Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Arif Qasmani". The Indian Express. 26 July 2017.
  23. 1 2 "Kashmir: The origins of the dispute". BBC. 16 January 2002. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  24. ↑ Wirsing, Robert (2003). Kashmir in the Shadow of War: Regional Rivalries in a Nuclear Age. New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc. p. 4. ISBN   0-7656-1090-6.
  25. ↑ "Thousands protest civilian deaths in Indian Kashmir". Reuters. 16 April 2007. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  26. ↑ Kapur, S. Paul (2007). Dangerous Deterrent: Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and Conflict in South Asia. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 102. ISBN   978-0-8047-5550-4.
  27. ↑ "Samjhauta only between Attari and Wagah". United News of India . 16 April 2000. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  28. ↑ Bhardwaj, P. K. (19 December 2003). "Samjhauta Express from December 25?". The Hindu. India. Archived from the original on 22 May 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  29. 1 2 "Terror on agenda: Kasuri arrives, visits Samjhauta blast victims". The Times of India. India. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2007.[ dead link ]
  30. 1 2 Sengupta, Somini (19 February 2007). "Train bombing tests India-Pakistan ties". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  31. 1 2 Baruah, Amit (23 February 2007). "Pakistani plane waits for hours". The Hindu . Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 24 February 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  32. ↑ Baruah, Amit (24 February 2007). "Train attack probe: plea to Pakistan". The Hindu . Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  33. 1 2 "Adieu to Pakistani brethren". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 25 February 2007. Archived from the original on 27 February 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  34. ↑ "India, Pak to continue running Samjhauta, Thar Express trains". Press Trust of India . Chennai, India. 9 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  35. ↑ "Safety measures initiated for Samjhauta Express". Press Trust of India . 28 April 2007. Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  36. ↑ Vasuki, K. G. (25 April 2007). "Coaches with fire fighting system for Samjhauta Express". United News of India . Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  37. 1 2 3 Denyer, Simon (20 February 2007). "Police release sketches of bomb suspects". Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  38. ↑ "Images of Bomb Suspects". Sky News . 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  39. ↑ "Indian police release sketches of 2 suspects in bombing of India-Pakistan train". USA Today. Associated Press. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  40. ↑ "Two held over Indian train blast". BBC News. 14 March 2007. Archived from the original on 16 March 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
  41. ↑ "Samjhauta Express fire caused by bombs: Railway probe". Press Trust of India . 26 March 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  42. ↑ "Samjhauta Express slowed down before blasts". Press Trust of India . 28 March 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  43. ↑ "Man interrogated in Samjhauta Express bomb blast case". The Indian Express. India. 13 March 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  44. ↑ Agencies. "Purohit supplied RDX for Samjhauta bomb: ATS". Express India. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  45. ↑ "I infiltrated Abhinav Bharat: Purohit". Hindustan Times. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  46. 1 2 "Lt Colonel Purohit: Did the Army sell short an effective officer?". NDTV.com. 30 June 2012. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013. One by one, 59 witnesses, all from the Army, have told a Court of Inquiry – step one of Army's legal process- why they believe Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit was just doing his job by fraternising with right-wing extremists. ..Officers have testified that Lieutenant Colonel Purohit had, in the course of his duties, infiltrated organisations like the Students Islamic Movement of India or SIMI. This is exactly what he had been ordered to do as a military intelligence man.
  47. ↑ "Police reach Mumbai to quiz Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya". The Hindu. Mumbai/Lucknow, India. 13 November 2008. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  48. ↑ Subramanian, Nirupama (25 November 2008). "India may share Samjhauta probe details with Pakistan". The Hindu . India. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  49. 1 2 "Pak blames India for not providing details about Samjhauta Express bomb blast". oneindia. 23 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  50. ↑ "A blast and a conspiracy". The Indian Express. India. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  51. ↑ Singh, Vijaita (15 April 2016). "Samjhauta blasts: NIA seeks details of LeT financier Qasmani's role from US". The Hindu .
  52. ↑ "Lt Col Purohit Not An Accused in Samjhauta Blast Case: National Investigation Agency". NDTV.
  53. ↑ "Direct hand of Aseemanand in Samjhauta blasts: NIA". Hindustan Times. India. 30 December 2010. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  54. ↑ Vishwa Mohan; Abantika Ghosh (8 January 2011). "Aseemanand owns up to strike on Mecca Masjid". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  55. ↑ Swami Aseemanand 'confessed' under duress, Times of India, 10 January 2011.
  56. ↑ Iyer, Shekhar (8 January 2011). "Indresh lawyers issue notice to CBI for statement 'leak'". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  57. ↑ "Swami Aseemanand, as I know him". Rediff.com. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  58. ↑ SAMJAUTA BLAST PROBE: MESSIER & MESSIER [usurped] South Asia Analysis Group – 2 April 2011
  59. ↑ Pradhan, Bibhudatta (20 June 2011). "India Charges Hindu Activists for Deadly Bombing of Pakistan Peace Train". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  60. ↑ HC notice to NIA on Aseemanand petition The Times of India – 29 November 2010
  61. ↑ "No Open and Shut Cases of Hindu terror" Rediff – 9 February 2012
  62. ↑ Agencies worried ‘Hindu terror’ tough to prove Daily Pioneer – 30 January 2012
  63. ↑ "Leaders condemn India train blast". BBC News. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2009. Retrieved on 19 February 2007
  64. ↑ "Treasury Targets Al Qaida and Lashkar-E Tayyiba Networks in Pakistan". US Treasury. 1 July 2009. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  65. ↑ U.N. sanction on Lashkar operative a blow to Pakistan The Hindu – 4 July 2009
  66. ↑ Curious case of Qasmani, who US, UN named in bombing Indian Express – 9 January 2011
  67. ↑ LeT trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction with help from Qaida Times of India – 11 May 2011
  68. ↑ Foreign Policy: Next, Let's Get Bin Laden's Financiers National Public Radio – 12 May 2011
  69. ↑ "Samjhauta express blast: Kamal Chouhan arrested for alleged role". The Times of India . India. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  70. ↑ "India arrests key suspect in Samjhauta Express blast". Express Tribune. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  71. ↑ "NIA to name Samjhauta bombers". 8 August 2012.
  72. ↑ "NIA fails to find killers of 68 Samjhauta Express passengers". TheIndependent.in. 20 March 2019.
  73. ↑ Pandey, Alok; Rati R; Sushmit Sengupta & Vikram Chowdhury (19 February 2007). "Cross border tragedy: Samjhauta Express blasts kill 66". NDTV . Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  74. ↑ Swami, Praveen (19 February 2007). "Samjhauta Express firebombed, 67 killed". The Hindu . Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  75. ↑ "India offers visas after train attack". Press Trust of India . 19 February 2007. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  76. ↑ Varadarajan, Siddharth (19 February 2007). "Keep the peace process on track". The Hindu . Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  77. ↑ "BJP seeks anti-terror bill in budget session". The Times of India . India. 19 February 2007. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  78. 1 2 "Musharraf says train blasts won't sabotage peace". Reuters. 19 February 2007. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  79. ↑ "68 killed as blasts rock Indo-Pak special train". Press Trust of India . 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 20 May 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  80. ↑ Page, Jeremy; Devika Bhat (19 February 2007). "India and Pakistan unite to condemn train bombing". The Times. London. Retrieved 16 May 2008.[ dead link ]
  81. ↑ "British Government condemns bomb attack on India–Pakistan train". Pakistan Press International . 19 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.

Further reading

29°18′35″N76°58′59″E / 29.30972°N 76.98306°E / 29.30972; 76.98306

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.