Samjhauta Express blast: key accused to be appear before court today

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) today likely to present Kamal Chouhan, a key accused of Samjhauta Express bomb blast 2007 in which 68 persons including 43 Pakistani were died, before the Patiala House Court after completing the interrogation.

The NIA had arrested Kamal from his native village of Indore district, Madhya Pradesh on late Saturday night.

According to NIA, Kamal is one of two key accused who had planted the bombs in two boggies of India-Pakistan Friendship Train 'Samjhauta Express' on 18^th February 2007 Panipat in Haryana. The Train was bound to Lahore, Pakistan from New Delhi.

NIA believes that Kamal is a close aid of Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange who are also the prime accused in this case and are yet to be discovered.

NIA has declared a cash reward of Rs. 2 to 10 lakh to the informers who would help in nabbing the 'wanted' accused in this case.

The NIA has already charged six people in connection of this case including right-wing extremists Swami Aseemanand and Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. The four others have been charged for assisting Aseemanand - Sandeep Dange, Ramchandra Kalasangra alias Ramji and two other persons, yet to be located.

The sources say that NIA can also enquire Chouhan regarding the murder of Sunil Joshi, one of the major accused in this case.

An NIA official has informed to media that NIA in its four years of inquiry has found that the entire conspiracy was hatched between 2005 and 2007 by the accused Swami Aseemanand, Sunil Joshi with other accused at different places in Gujarat, M.P. and other places.

Aseemanand in police interrogation had reportedly confessed that he was also involved at Malegaon in Maharashtra in 2006 and 2008 bomb blast, but later he retracted from his statement and alleged NIA for forcing him to accept the involvement in bomb blast cases.