Notwithstanding the reluctance of the Madhya Pradesh Government to hand over the probe into the murder of RSS activist Sunil Joshi, an accused in the Samjhauta Express blast case, the Centre is all set to ask the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for a thorough probe relating to Hindu terror groups. The Union Home Ministry is expected to issue a notification soon in the cases, where Hindutva terror groups’ involvement has surfaced, to the NIA, which is already probing the blast in Samjhauta Express. After taking an in-principle decision to hand over all seven terror cases involving right wing extremist groups to the NIA, the Home Ministry sought the respective agencies’ opinions, which are currently investigating the case.
The Ministry has already sent a proposal to the Law Ministry to seek its legal opinion in the wake of absence of a nod from the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh. The NIA Act empowers the Centre to unilaterally hand over any terror case to the agency and does not require the state government’s consent.