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Samjhauta blasts
Indo-Pak trade |
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‘Saffron terror’ goes on trial As the Samjhauta blast accused appear before the Special NIA court for trial tomorrow, The Tribune looks at the significance of the case, and how Hindu radicals allegedly took a year to plan and execute the blast in a foolproof manner. By Hina Rohtaki
The case hovering around Samjhauta Express bombings, which once threatened to throw the peace process with Pakistan off the tracks, has once again brought “saffron terror outfits” into focus. Seven years after the blast killed 68 persons — mostly Pakistanis, and allegedly blew the lid off “saffron” terror brigades, a Special Court at Panchkula has framed murder, sedition and other charges against right-wing Hindu activist Swami Aseemanand and three others. The development indicates that the court has, prima facie, found sufficient evidence for the trial to go on against like-minded Hindus who allegedly wanted to wreak vengeance for terror attacks instigated by Pakistan. The significance The accused will appear before the Special National Investigative Agency (NIA) court on February 24. The trial is crucial as it will prove if indeed “saffron terror outfits” were behind the blasts, and also from the angle of Indo-Pak ties. If the prosecution succeeds in proving the case against the alleged Hindu radicals, it would reflect on the fairness of the justice dispensation system, but at the same time it may dent India’s international image as a moderate country. Soon after the explosions, the Indian Government had launched a scathing attack on Pakistan for the terror attacks. Pakistan was accused of giving refuge to terrorists and purposely derailing the peace process. Pakistan, on the other hand, accused India of not pursuing the case seriously. Investigations carried out by the NIA, meanwhile, has linked the bombings to Hindu militant groups within the country. The intention The chargesheet submitted by the NIA to the trial court clearly indicates “bomb-for-bomb” approach by the Hindu “activists”. The chargesheet says “bomb ka badla bomb” theory was propagated during meetings Aseemanand held with the co-conspirators before the operation was carried out. Investigators claim Aseemanand was upset over terrorist attacks on Hindu temples and wanted to give a befitting reply to the perceived persecution of Hindus by members of the minority community. A scrutiny of the judicial files also reveals that the accused were of the belief that the country was running a train to Pakistan for improving ties, despite the fact that the neighbouring country was launching terror attacks on India one after the other. “Ek taraf wo hum par ek ke baad ek atanki hamla karte ja rahe hain or hum unse Samjhauta karne k liye train chala rahe hain (On the one hand they are launching terror attacks one after the other and we are forwarding our hand for friendship by running a train),” are the words of the accused recorded by the investigating agency. At one point of time, the NIA even suspected a link between the Samjhauta Express blasts and the explosions that took place in Malegaon, Moddasa, Hyderabad and Ajmer. The NIA had even told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it wanted to compare the improvised explosive devices used in the Samjhauta Express blasts with the explosives deployed to trigger blasts at the other places. The conspiracy The accused reportedly watched the film Black Friday for inputs. The chargesheet suggests that the conspiracy to plant bombs in Samjhauta Express had its roots in meetings held in 2003. Aseemanand met the alleged co-conspirators Sadhvi Pragya Singh and Sunil Joshi. Investigators insist Aseemanand would often vent his anger during discussions that ensued with Sunil, Pragya and one Bharat Bhai. About two years later in October, Sunil Joshi arranged a meeting with Aseemanand and Indresh Kumar in Surat, where attacks on Hindus were discussed. Indresh’s name figures in the chargesheet. The very next year, Joshi told Aseemanand that he had some boys capable of action. But any such mission involved heavy financial expenses for procuring raw materials for fabricating improvised explosive devices. Investigators insist Aseemanand offered Rs 25,000, but the amount was not enough. Sunil has been quoted in the chargesheet as saying: “Swami ji bas aap apna aashirwaad hum pe rakhiye, is karya ke liye paise denewale aur bhi log hain (Swami ji, just give your blessings. There are many more to pay for this task.” Investigators alleged that the main conspiracy meeting in June 2006 was attended by Sadhvi Pragya, Sunil Joshi, Sandeep Dange, Ramji, Lokesh, Amit Chauhan, Bharat Bhai and Aseemanand. Sunil has been quoted as saying: “Yeh sab humare ladke hain…Yahan Hindu mar rahe hain aur sarkar Samjhauta train chala rahi hai” (All these are our boys. Here the Hindus are dying and the government is running Samjhauta train). In response, Sandeep is quoted as suggesting: “Hum Samjhauta train ko hi uda denge. (We will blow up Samjhauta train).” The chargesheet says bomb planters Kamal Chauhan, Lokesh Sharma, Rajender and Amit attended a training session organised by Sunil Joshi at Bagli forest in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, in 2006. They were trained to fire and fabricate pipe bombs. A similar firing practice was carried out at a firing range in Faridabad. The explosion The train was going from Delhi to Attari, the last station on the Indian side. The passengers were to board the train to Lahore the next day. The blasts took place in two coaches at Diwana village near Panipat. The chargesheet says on the day of the incident, the accused reached Delhi by the Indore Intercity Express under fake names and returned after planting four suitcases with bombs. Two exploded on February 19, 2007. The remaining were later defused and destroyed. The chargesheet says Sunil Joshi was watching the blast news on TV at the residence of Bharat Bhai and cheerfully stated: “Accha hua, yeh kaam apne teacher Sandeep Dange aur uske ladkon ka hai. Finally usne kar hi diya (It’s good. The work was done by our teacher Sandeep Dange and his boys. Finally, he has done it).” Investigations revealed that the very next day, Sunil Joshi, Pragya and Aseemanand held a secret meeting. They were constantly watching news to know about the blasts. The NIA is investigating the exact role of Sadhvi Pragya. The arrest A suitcase cover gave the first lead to the NIA. The cover of the suitcase, which carried the bomb ‘APOLO 600’, was made in Indore. The cover was purchased from Kothari market, Indore. The call details of Sunil Joshi revealed that the day before the incident, he was in the same market. The Trial In all, 299 witnesses have been cited by the prosecution. Most of them are Pakistan nationals. Relatives of the victims putting up in India have also been cited. Some of them are residing in Mewat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal and Srinagar. Aseemanand, Kamal Chauhan, Lokesh and Rajender Pehelwan have been charged under Sections 302 (murder), Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), Section 307 (attempt to murder), Section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means), Section 327 (voluntarily causing hurt to extort property), Section 438, Section 124-A (sedition) and Section 440 (mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt) of the IPC; Sections 150, 151 and 152 of Railways Act; Section 346 of Explosive Substances Act; Sections 3 and 4 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act; and Sections 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 23 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The role of many more is under scanner, including Pragya and Indresh Kumar. The chargesheet mentions the involvement of Amit, alias Sunny, Pragya Singh, Indresh Kumar, Devender Gupta and other individuals in the conspiracy. Key players From an engineer to a property dealer, to a wrestler and young leaders, the mastermind Sunil Joshi and Aseemenand roped in all. They said they wanted perfection in executing the blasts. Being technically sound, Sandeep Dange was addressed as “teacher”. Kamal Chauhan, Lokesh Sharma, Rajender and Amit were the bomb planters.
The accused
Naba Kumar Sarkar, alias Swami Aseemanand Sunil Joshi, alias Guru ji Ramchandra Kalsangra, alias Ramji Sandeep Dange, alias teacher Lokesh Sharma Occupation: Property dealer Kamal Chauhan Amit Rajender Chaudhary |
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Indo-Pak trade
The
trade dynamics between India and Pakistan is difficult to measure in numbers. Currently, the official trade stands at $2.6 billion every year, which is not very big, but experts estimate that the potential for trade is 10-20 times more. Furthermore, there is a chunk of trade which happens through third-party countries. More than the numbers, India-Pakistan trade is an emotive issue peppered with shared history, culture and nostalgia with the overhang of cross-border tensions which have affected trade engagement. There is also the fervent hope now that trade will open the doors for better relations between the two countries and peace and prosperity in the region. SM Muneer, president, India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says: “Bilateral trade is a matter of mutual interest and gain, considering that both countries have a common border, common geography, historic legacy, similar culture, customs, norms, minimal transportation cost and identical taste. But unfortunately, they have enjoyed very little trading relations over the past decades. Both countries always try to find ways to reduce dependency on each other and expand bilateral relationship on the basis of political interest instead of economic interest.” Talking turkey At the policy level, trade talks have been countering headwinds. Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on relations between India and Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid recently said: “Among the outcomes of the resumed dialogue are the signing of a new visa agreement and the commitment by Pakistan for establishing a normalised trading relationship with India, including by granting India MFN status. All provisions of the new visa agreement, except the provision for permitting group tourism, were operationalised by April 2013. During the Commerce Secretary-level talks in Islamabad in September 2012, both sides developed an agreed roadmap for normalisation of bilateral trade. However, Pakistan has not been able to implement the steps it had committed to undertake in the roadmap.” That there are hiccups in the pace of implementation of already announced measures was evident when Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma skipped the India Show organised by Ficci in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Lahore last week. On the Pakistan side, the event was supported by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. Taking a knock The trade relationship does not gather momentum as it gets hit by cross-border incidents which lead to a border and trade shutdown. Recently, trade on the J&K border was shut for three-four weeks due to a seizure of Rs 100 crore worth of heroin from a truck. Earlier, the first ministerial-level dialogue took place after a hiatus of 16 months at the SAARC business summit last month. In a bilateral meeting, trade ministers Anand Sharma and Khurram Dastgir Khan announced a series of steps, including round-the-clock trade activity at the Wagah-Attari border, allowing container cargo, opening bank branches, allowing business visas in bigger numbers and non-discriminatory market access (NDMA) for both countries. The NDMA nomenclature has replaced most-favoured nation (MFN), which apparently when translated, takes on a meaning which is objected to by some sections. Sharma put off his visit as reportedly three main issues are still hanging. These include proposals on allowing trade of all goods through the Wagah-Attari border, dismantling of the negative list of 1,209 items and bringing down the sensitive list of items to 100 under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) over a period of five years. At present, only 137 items can be traded through this border. The NDMA remains the big bracket item and Pakistan industry expects something to happen on the issue in the next 20 days. Speaking in Lahore at the inauguration of the India Show, Khan made the point that progress on trade could only be so much and a composite dialogue involving the foreign ministry also needed to be started. He said visa restrictions were the biggest non-trade barriers. Business first Businessmen from both countries have stressed on the fact that economic relations should not get affected by political issues. Sohail Lashari, president, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says trade between the two countries is a good omen. “It has financial implications in boosting exports but the intangible benefit is that it is also the best way of defusing tensions. In time it will create a thaw in relations. Once the irritants are removed, the unfortunate events that cause a border shutdown will be averted and it will be business as usual.” He said encouraging people-to-people contact had been positive, adding that tourism should be encouraged as it only needed a visa and there were several locations of interest on both sides. Leading the Indian delegation, Jyotsna Suri, senior vice-president, Ficci, and chairperson, Bharat Hotels, also pitched for greater focus on the trade and hospitality sector to enhance trade ties. She said tourism could act as a multiplier for a wide range of activities like airlines, handicrafts, taxi and tour operators and employment. Lashari said a mechanism of joint inspection of trucks coming from the border would create a better atmosphere. Right now only trade could take place as investment required trust. There was a need to open the entire line of products for allowing trade and settling non-trade barriers. This is the first time a woman Indian business leader, Jyotsna Suri, led a 400-member delegation to Pakistan. “The India Show comprising around 130 Indian companies across sectors showcased their products which received an overwhelming response from the Pakistan business community and the public at large. This is another positive step in improving economic engagement between the two neighbours,” she said. Among the companies that participated included several jewellery chains and textile manufacturers. Sucha Singh Gill, Director General, Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh, said electricity trading, opening of bank branches, facilitating mobile roaming and creating a no man’s land at the border for trade were steps that could be taken to enhance trade.
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