How Samjhauta blast case fell flat, acquittals came through

Bhartesh Singh Thakur 

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, March 20

Trial proceedings in the Samjhauta blasts case, which started on February 24, 2014, were marked by a number of witnesses turning hostile, leading to acquittals.

The  NIA claimed that a meeting took place at Bharat Rateshwar’s residence in Valsad, Gujarat, in June 2006, in which he, Aseemanand, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Sunil Joshi, Sandeep Dange, Ramchander Kalsangra, Lokesh Sharma and Amit Hakla were present.

Aseemanand, who presided over the meeting, allegedly reiterated his theory of avenging attacks on Hindu temples. To prove that the meeting took place, the NIA got Rateshwar’s confessional statement recorded before a magistrate.

He turned hostile on May 30, 2015. He stated that he had made the statement “under pressure of the NIA”.

The NIA claimed that Ajay Chauhan of Haridwar had told the agency that Aseemanand, who was staying as Swami Omkaranand at Paramhans Ashram in Haridwar, had made an extra-judicial confession about his role in the blasts in November 2010.

It was claimed that tehsil official Shakti Singh was present during Aseemanand’s confession. Both refused to admit that they ever made such a statement on September 4, 2015.

Neera, an associate of Sadhvi Pragya, told the trial court on July 17, 2015, that she was under pressure from the NIA and was being threatened.

Shivam Dhakad of Dewas was to confirm the preparation of bombs, a meeting of Joshi, Sadhvi Pragya, RSS leader Indresh, Rajinder Chaudhary and Sharma in Jaipur, testing of a bomb in the Bagli forest of Madhya Pradesh in January 2006 and firing practice at the Karni range in Faridabad. On July 3, 2015, he turned hostile.

Revenue official Mohd Irshad was to depose regarding confessional statement of Chaudhary about training in making bombs at Bagli. He turned hostile on October 16, 2015.

The meeting between Joshi and Rateshwar with then Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was mentioned. Witness Rajeshwar Singh of Etah in Madhya Pradesh turned hostile on September 4, 2015.