68 people, mostly Pakistanis, including 33 men, 19 women and 16 children were killed in the Samjhauta Express blast. The was train travelling from Delhi to Lahore during the intervening night of February 18 and 19 near Panipat in Haryana.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court Monday reserved its order on the bail plea of Kamal Chauhan, an accused in the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings. The court had earlier asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to present the entire evidence collected against Chauhan in the blast case during the probe.
Sixty-eight people, mostly Pakistanis, including 33 men, 19 women and 16 children, were killed in the Samjhauta Express blast. The train was travelling from Delhi to Lahore during the intervening night of February 18 and 19 near Panipat in Haryana. NIA has named eight people in the chargesheets filed in the case since 2011.
The trial in the case at Panchkula district court also resumed before a new judge after having been stalled due to the transfer of the judge earlier holding the Special Court. Majority of the witnesses have already been examined in the case. Among the witnesses, the trial court last year had also issued summons to 13 Pakistanis but they have not yet appeared before the court
The counsels representing Chauhan have been contending that his alleged role in the case is dependent only on a single witness and some of the co-accused have already been granted bail in the matter. Chauhan’s bail plea has been pending before the High Court since 2015.