SYYED MANSOOR AGHA delves deep into then stalled probe into Samjhauta Express blasts and reveals that Haryana police had almost cracked the case in a short time but it was the powers that be that did block the probe.
In a welcome development the Government of India has handed over Samjhauta Express blast case to National Investigation Agency (NIA). This was announced in New Delhi by Mr. U K Bansal, Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry on July 29, 2010. Later on, confirming the decision, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram explained: “One of the aspects that NIA will probe is whether it has got any connection with those (Hindutva groups ideologically assimilated with RSS) who were involved in Ajmer blast, Makkah Masjid and Malegaon blasts. That is an aspect that has to be probed.”
He further said, “Since the Haryana police have not been able to crack the case, with their [the State’s] consent, the case has been handed over to the NIA.” Mr. Chidambaram was answering questions after presenting his Ministry’s report card for July.
THEORY DIDN’T WORK
Sixty-eight people were killed when bombs were set off in two coaches of Samjhauta Express, running between Delhi and Lahore, around midnight on February 18, 2007 at Diwana near Panipat, 80 kilometres north of Delhi. The immediate response from India was that this was the handiwork of Pak-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) which was not in favour of peace between the two countries. At that point of time, it was also said that since RDX was used in the blast, the attack must have been masterminded from across the border, since it is impossible to access RDX in India.
Suspicion on Pakistani elements’ involvement was strengthened with the US plea that certain Asif Kasmani, a name never heard before, was involved in the Samjhauta Express blasts. Kasmani was considered to be the link between LeT and Al Qaida.
There is no doubt that there are certain elements in Pakistan with their declared aim ‘to bleed India’ and after every terror attack, finger of suspicion is raised towards these elements. But this theory did not work in many cases, as Hindustan Times reported on February 15, 2008, “The police had said Islamist groups had carried out these strikes, and claimed that they targeted Muslims to create communal tension. That theory has all but collapsed. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and investigators from Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra are now exchanging notes to broaden the scope of investigation and probe Hindu extremists.”
Though Haryana Police’s ‘failure’ to crack the case is cited as sole reason for handing over the case to NIA, there are some other factors that prompted the administration to effect this transfer of case. The Hindu reported on July 31, 2010, “Since then (Samjhauta blasts) during India-Pakistan talks, New Delhi has been seeking information on the progress made in probing the 26/11 Mumbai attacks while Islamabad always asks for a status report on the train blast investigation.”
HINDUTVA IMPRINT
Whatever the compulsion, to blame Haryana Police for its ‘failure’ to crack the case is not justified. Haryana Police had almost cracked the case in a very short time and later ATS Maharashtra under Hemant Karkare also had pinpointed the conspirators, but it was the BJP Government of Madhya Pradesh that did not co-operate at the crucial stage of investigation. Union Home Ministry under the stewardship of Shivraj Patil, former National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and certain officers in IB are also blamed in a section of press for blocking the probe.
Immediately the Haryana Police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the able leadership of ADGP V.N. Rai. The team started its investigation in a professional way from the spot of crime and within 20 days (by April 10) succeeded in identifying the shops of Kothari market in Indore, wherefrom suitcases and their covers that were used to carry the bombs were procured. The team also found the shops in Naya Bazar area wherefrom all the components used in assembling bombs and other material were purchased. All shopkeepers were interrogated at length and faces of culprits almost identified.
THE MYSTERY
Suddenly something mysterious happened and the progress in the case stalled. In October 2007 a national daily reported that in March 2007 when the Haryana Police was on the verge of solving the case, Madhya Pradesh Police sulked to cooperate and Haryana Police had to retreat in a huff.
Chander Suta Dogra, in a report in Outlook India, sheds some light on the mystery. He writes, “Sources in the Haryana police told Outlook that all their leads pointed to the involvement of “Hindutva fundamentalist” elements, and despite several arrests, they failed to find any evidence of the involvement of Islamic groups like Indian Mujahedeen or SIMI. Why was the probe stalled then? The commonly given explanation is that when the government’s policy has been to blame Pakistan for every terrorist incident in India, it would have damaged the country’s credibility if, after blaming them for the blast, it was proved to be the work of Hindutva outfits.”
Dogra further reports, “Crucially, several senior police officials told Outlook that it was the office of the then National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan, which informally advised the police to go slow on the probe and not investigate the Hindu connection.”
The Haryana Home Department wrote to the Central Government in September 2007, requesting the CBI to take over the investigation, but as the powers that be would have it this was not allowed to happen.
It seems that the investigating agencies (SIT, Haryana Police) had clear idea of the terrorists involved in the crime, but the then bosses in MHA were not interested in bringing real culprits to the book. Instead they chose to blame others.
FROM HORSE’S MOUTH
The names of Hindutva activists, associated with Sangh Parivar once again surfaced in November 2008 when Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col Srikant Prasad Purohit and Mahant Amritanand alias Dayanand Pande, etc. were arrested in Malegaon bomb blast case. Pande has a base in Faridabad (Haryana). He claimed during his narco test in Bengaluru that the same group was behind the Samjhauta blast. He also said Purohit was in the know of this operation.
Purohit reportedly revealed during his narco test (November 9, 2008): “Pravin Togadia was instrumental in Samjhauta Express blasts.” He told the officer who conducted his narco analysis test that “Samjhauta Express bomb blast was done under the guidance of Parvin Bhai Togadia” (Pune Mirror, November 19, 2008).
The Indian Express also reported that Lt. Col. Purohit told CBI that VHP General Secretary Pravin Togadia was instrumental in founding and funding the Abhinav Bharat, the Hindutva outfit involved in Malegaon and other blasts.
On November 15, 2008, Maharashtra ATS under Karkare pleaded in Nasik Court for Purohit’s Police custody extension on the ground that Purohit had supplied the RDX to a person by the name of Bhagwan. Police sources said Bhagwan could be a Hindutva godman based in Indore wherefrom the RDX was transported to be used in the Samjhauta blast.
After this news, the Haryana Police expressed its intention to resume the probe from Indore where it had gone cold. But those who were watching the developments were shocked and surprised when only after two days, on November 17 2008, ATS retracted from its stand. Apparently under the instructions of higher-ups (IB, NSA and MHA officials) the ATS chief Hemant Karkare claimed that ATS Advocate Ajay Misar was wrongly reported in the press saying in the court that the RDX used in Samjhauta blast was provided by Lt. Col. Purohit.
“Soon after Misar made the sensational charge in Nasik court, the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which is keeping a close tab on the probe, alerted the centre about the implication of Misar’s statement. When the train blast took place, the centre had blamed Pakistan’s ISI for the terror strike on the basis of the Bureau’s finding,” Times of India reported on November 18, 2008.
Immediately after the blasts on the train, India had been quick to assign responsibility to a Pakistani outfit. Is this hasty stand now constraining investigations despite evidence to the contrary?
The Times of India also quoted a senior Bureau officer as saying, “The ATS’s charge on Friday (November 15, 2008) would have impaired the centre’s credibility internationally and that forensic examination of the blast site and two unexploded bombs had conclusively proved that RDX was not used” (as quoted by People’s Democracy, February 15, 2009).
But the same day a senior police officer of Haryana dumped the IB officer’s claim regarding use of RDX. The Tribune and Zee News quoted Bharti Arora, S.P. (GRPF) Ambala categorically stating that ‘Forensic test report has confirmed that RDX was used in the bombs.’
Sources in the Haryana police, which made the first breakthrough when tracking the Samjhauta case to Indore, told rediff.com that their probe ended right when they managed their first lead.
Rediff further reported, “We had been told to go slow many times, which was demoralising since we could have nailed the case. The Haryana police was fed up by the constant interference and pressure, and had even written a letter to the Union Home Ministry in 2007 to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation. However, this was not considered,” the source added.
It may be guessed in this scenario, at whose instance M.P. Police stopped Haryana SIT to investigate further and crack the case in March, 2007 itself?
CONCLUSION
The involvement of Hindutva terror goons was evident from the very beginning. Haryana police was investigating in right direction. Leads in Ajmer blast case also took Rajasthan police to Indore, where it went cold in the same manner. Modus operandi in these all blast cases indicate towards the same syndicate.
But it is not enough to identify the few individuals who played active roles in terror incidents and punish them. It is also important to investigate all terror activities (including anti-minority riots and inflammatory hate campaigns) as a deep conspiracy to destabilise our constitutionally constituted Government, which is tantamount to waging a war against India. Un-masking such elements and bringing their real anti-national faces before the nation is the urgent need of the hour.
It may be noted that all these blasts occurred at the places of Muslim concentration. This shows that the elements involved in all such cases had deep rooted psyche against Muslims. It is not difficult to identify the practitioners of terror and their mission that has been infusing militancy into Hindu minds and instigating youth to bleed Muslims for the last 75 years. We do not ask Mr. Chidambaram to impose ban on such organisations, as it may be counterproductive. The only way to combat, and combat in an assuredly effective manner, such forces is a strong, un-compromising socio-political action to educate people about the dangers of Hindutva Philosophy. The efforts and actions taken by the Union Home Minister seem to be moving in right direction. Ironically, the main opposition party BJP is scared though it had fought last Parliamentary elections on the pledge of eradicating terrorism from its roots. Why they are scared need not to be explained.
[The writer is General Secretary of Forum for Civil Rights. [email protected]]