Agency used diplomatic channel for three times but no response from Pakistan, NIA tells court

PANCHKULA: The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Panchkula on Monday reserved order on Pakistani national Rakhila Vakil’s plea for March 20, in connection with Samjhauta blasts case.


Pakistani national Rahila Vakil, who claimed to be the daughter of one deceased Muhammad Vakil, had moved an application through her advocate Momin Malik and requested the court to record her statement.

Earlier on Monday, NIA counsel Rajan Malhotra submitted before the court that agency used the diplomatic channel for three times to get the statements recorded of 13 Pakistani witnesses before Panchkula court but there was no response from Pakistani authorities.

NIA also submitted before the court that Rahila is not among 13 Pakistani nationals, who were prosecution witnesses in the Samjhauta blasts case.

On the other side, counsels of four accused Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajender Chaudhary, opposed Rahila’s plea.

Assemanand’s counsel Mukesh Garg submitted that Rahila has no right to file an application as she was not among 13 Pakistani witnesses. He also submitted that Rahila cannot file an application on behalf of 13 Pakistani nationals and demanded that her application should be dismissed.

On March 11, the court had issued a notice to NIA and four accused Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajender Chaudhary, on the application of blast victim's kin, who want to record statement in Panchkula court.

There were total of eight accused in this case. Sandeep Dange, Ramchandra Kalasangra and Amit Chauhan are still absconding. Another accused Sunil Joshi, who was alleged mastermind of this case, was shot dead in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh on December 29, 2007.

The blasts on Samjhauta Express train had taken place on February 18, 2007, killing 68 people, mostly Pakistanis. The train was targeted as Pakistani Muslims used to travel by it, as per NIA charge sheet.

The NIA on June 20, 2011, had filed the charge sheet running into 1500 pages against Swami Aseemanand and four others in the Panchkula NIA court. In the charge sheet, filed before the special NIA court in Panchkula, the agency had accused Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Sunil Joshi (now dead), Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalasangra alias Ramji, were accused of murder, criminal conspiracy, Explosive Substances Act and Railways Act and others, which resulted in blasts in the cross-border train near Dewana railway station in Panipat district in February 2007 resulted in the death of 68 persons. Majority of those killed in the blast were Pakistanis. Later, supplementary charge sheet was also filed against other accused.

NIA had submitted that accused had attacked train to take revenge of terror attacks on Hindu religious institutions-- Akshardham (Gujarat), Raghunath Mandir (Jammu) and Sankat Mochan Mandir (Varanasi), whereas defence had pleaded that accused were falsely implicated in the case and confessional statements were taken by the investigation agencies under duress by resorting coercive methods.

According to NIA, “On February 19, 2007, Bharat Bhai and Sunil Joshi were watching TV at the resident of Bharat Bhai at Valsad, when the news about blasts in Samjhauta blasts flashed. On watching the news on TV, Joshi cheerfully said, "Achha Hua, yeh kaam apne teacher alias Sandeep Dange aur uske ladko ka hai. Finally, usne kar hi diya".

In this case, the court had even directed 13 Pakistan Nationals to record their statements, but till date they did not turn up. These Pakistani nationals are those who were either travelling on the train on that fateful day or are next of kin who died in the blasts.