:2007 Samjhauta Express bombings

{{multiple issues|

{{More footnotes|date=February 2025}}}}

{{Short description|2007 terrorist attack on a train, Panipat, India}}

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = Samjhauta Express bombing

| image =

| caption = Samjhauta Express engulfed in flames after the bombings

| location = Diwana, Panipat, Haryana, India

| target = Samjhauta Express train

| date = 18 February 2007

| time = 23:53

| timezone = UTC +5:30

| weapons = Bombs

| fatalities = 70

| injuries = 50

| accused = Lashkar-e-Taiba[http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/fbi-team-in-india-nia-to-seek-info-on-let-s-samjhauta-link/story-MKUiUn97nPGsi74FbOtCQJ.html FBI team in India, NIA to seek info on LeT’s Samjhauta link] Hindustan Times – 13 May 2016[https://zeenews.india.com/news/india/lashkar-e-toiba-carried-out-deadly-2007-samjhauta-express-blasts-nia-to-submit-this-us-intel-report-in-court_1888629.html Lashkar-e-Toiba carried out deadly 2007 Samjhauta Express blasts: NIA to submit this US intel report in court] Zee News – 23 May 2016{{bsn|date=February 2025}} Abhinav Bharat

| convicted =

}}

The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan.{{cite news|title=Dozens dead in India train blast|work=BBC News|date=19 February 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6374377.stm|access-date=19 February 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070220070758/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6374377.stm| archive-date= 20 February 2007 | url-status= live}}{{cite news|title=66 Die in India-Pakistan Train Attack |first=Muneeza|last=Naqvi|agency=Associated Press |date=19 February 2007 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/18/AR2007021801136.html |access-date=19 February 2007 | newspaper=The Washington Post}} Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, {{convert|80|km|mi}} north of New Delhi. 70 people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured.{{cite news|title=Toll reaches to 68 in Samjhauta Express explosions |work=Islamic Republic News Agency |date=20 February 2007 |url=http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-239/0702206010190550.htm |access-date=20 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224134119/http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-239/0702206010190550.htm |archive-date=24 February 2007 |url-status=dead }} Of the 70 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians. The victims also included some Indian civilians and three railway policemen.{{cite news|title=At least 66 killed in India-Pakistan train blast |first=Y. P.|last=Rajesh|work=Reuters|date=19 February 2007|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSDEL34195220070219|access-date=19 February 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070221032834/https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSDEL34195220070219| archive-date= 21 February 2007 | url-status= live}}

Investigators subsequently found evidence of suitcases with explosives and flammable material, including three undetonated bombs. Inside one of the undetonated suitcases, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was packed alongside a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and chemicals. After the bombing, eight unaffected carriages were allowed to continue onwards to Lahore with passengers. Both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to disrupt improving relations between the two nations, since the attack came just a day before Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri was to arrive in New Delhi to resume peace talks with Indian leaders.

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged eight people in the terrorist attack, including Swami Aseemanand, a Hindu cleric formerly affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/samjhauta-express-blast-verdict-held-up-over-pakistani-national-s-last-minute-plea/story-3JU1XExtGftHcwNMj0Bk9I.html|title=Samjhauta Express blast verdict held up over Pakistani national's last-minute plea|date=2019-03-11|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}}{{bsn|date=February 2025}} While Aseemanand has been released on bail, three persons charged in the case are absconding, and three others are in prison. The alleged mastermind, Sunil Joshi, was killed in 2007. In 2019, NIA court has acquitted all the accused.{{bsn|date=February 2025}}

It has been allegedly linked to Abhinav Bharat, a Hindu fundamentalist group in India.[http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?266145 The Mirror Explodes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129100253/http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?266145 |date=29 November 2010 }} – Outlook – 19 July 2010 Allegations were also concurred on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), an Islamic fundamentalist terror group in Pakistan.[http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_us-review-finds-five-warnings-of-headley-s-militant-links_1463614 US review finds five warnings of Headley's militant links] DNA India – 8 November 2010{{bsn|date=February 2025}} A United States report declared Arif Qasmani to be involved in the attack.{{cite web|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/us-sanctions-pak-lashkar-man-cites-his-samjhauta-blast-link/484480/|title=US sanctions Pak Lashkar man, cites his Samjhauta blast link - Indian Express| website = indianexpress (archive)}} Consequently, he was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States and designated by the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council for facilitating the LeT in "the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India, and the February 2007 Samjota Express bombing in Panipat, India."{{cite web |title=QASMANI, Arif |url=https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=11373 |website=Office of Foreign Assets Control |publisher=US Treasury}}{{cite web |title=ARIF QASMANI |url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/arif-qasmani |website=United Nations Security Council|quote=Qasmani has worked with LeT to facilitate terrorist attacks, including the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India, and the February 2007 Samjota Express bombing in Panipat, India.}}{{cite web|last=Raju|first=Radhavinod|title=Samjhauta Express Blast Vs Mumbai Terror Attacks|url=http://www.ipcs.org/article/india/samjhauta-express-blast-vs-mumbai-terror-attacks-3328.html|publisher=Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies|access-date=25 February 2013|quote=The case was under investigation with the Haryana police who could not make any headway after their probe led to a tailor in Indore who had prepared the cover of the suitcase in which the bombs were planted. After over three years, the probe was handed over to the National Investigation Agency in the middle of 2010 by the Central government. At that time, there were reports that the Hindu right-wing groups that were involved in the Malegaon and Ajmer blasts were also involved in the Samjhauta Express blast. The Americans had in the meanwhile, in early 2009, identified a Pakistani, Asif Kasmani, of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, as involved in the Samjhauta Express blast, and moved the UN to declare him as an international terrorist. Americans generally do not make such claims easily. Did they have some clue, or evidence that the Indian investigators missed? The investigators had therefore to move carefully and look at unimpeachable evidence to come to any conclusion about the actual perpetrators.}}

Questions were raised over a Pakistani national who was arrested after the bombings for not carrying valid papers and was seen as suspicious by the investigators, but was discharged within 14 days according to a statement of the first investigation officer assigned to the case. A court order had noted the statement of the police that no proof had been found against him, which was also stated later by one of the senior officers.

A narco-analysis test was conducted on SIMI's leaders Safdar Nagori, Kamruddin Nagori and Amil Parvez who had stated about Abdul Razzaq's involvement in the blasts and him informing Safdar about it. Times Now had broadcast a video of the test in 2017.{{bsn|date=February 2025}} The later statements of Swami Aseemanand of Sunil Joshi telling him of involvement of his men in the blast had caused confusion for the investigators. One of the investigating officers stated in 2016 that they had investigated the Islamists including Safdar but didn't find them involved. Razzaq who had been in prison since 2005 had been interrogated and had brought Qasmani to the notice of Intelligence Bureau as a key Lashkar financier. He was questioned regarding the case, but no evidence of his involvement were found. Some officers had also questioned the reliability of narco-analysis.{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/samjhauta-blast-unsc-still-blames-lashkar-e-taiba-operative-arif-qasmani-4767235/|title=Samjhauta blast: UNSC still blames Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Arif Qasmani|website=The Indian Express|date=26 July 2017}}

Background

Since their formation resulting from the Partition of India in 1947, India and Pakistan have had a conflict-ridden relationship. In their plan for the partition, the British allowed all 565 princely states to decide which country they wanted to join.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1762146.stm|title=Kashmir: The origins of the dispute|date=16 January 2002|work=BBC|access-date=16 May 2008}} Most Hindu-majority princely states acceded to the Republic of India, while most Muslim-majority princely states joined the Dominion (now Islamic Republic) of Pakistan. The decision made by the leaders of some of these princely states has been a source of conflict and tension between the two countries. Kashmir is one of these princely states—its population was mostly Muslim, but the Hindu ruler Hari Singh of the state decided to join India. The countries have fought four wars over this disputed region: the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (resulting in the formation of Bangladesh), and the Kargil War in 1999.{{cite book|last=Wirsing|first=Robert|title=Kashmir in the Shadow of War: Regional Rivalries in a Nuclear Age|publisher=M. E. Sharpe, Inc.|location=New York|year=2003|page=4|isbn=0-7656-1090-6}}

Since the 1980s, militants in Jammu and Kashmir have targeted attacks on civilians, members of the government and the Indian Army. Some groups, like the Islamist militant organisations Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, believe that Kashmir should be integrated into Pakistan, while others—such as the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front—believe it should become an independent state. All told, thousands of civilians have died due to the insurgency.{{cite news |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP241652.htm |title=Thousands protest civilian deaths in Indian Kashmir |date=16 April 2007|access-date=19 May 2008|url-status=live |archive-date=26 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626025927/http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP241652.htm}}{{cite book |last=Kapur|first=S. Paul|title=Dangerous Deterrent: Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and Conflict in South Asia |publisher=Stanford University Press|location=Stanford, California|year=2007|page=102|isbn=978-0-8047-5550-4}}

In recent years, the Indian and Pakistani governments have made attempts to bring peace or at least calm tensions between the countries. One such attempt in the peace process came with the launch of the Samjhauta Express, so-named because the word samjhauta means "accord" and "compromise" in Hindi and Urdu, respectively. This twice-weekly train service runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Wagah and Lahore in Pakistan.{{cite news |url=http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/20000416/ina16011.html |title=Samjhauta only between Attari and Wagah |date=16 April 2000 |work=United News of India |access-date=16 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521035702/http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/20000416/ina16011.html |archive-date=21 May 2008 |url-status=dead}} Launched in 1976, the Samjhauta Express served as the only rail connection between the two countries until the launch of the Thar Express. Given the nature of the transnational service and the ongoing violence in the region, the Samjhauta Express was always heavily guarded, as it was a high-risk target for terrorist attacks. Weeks after the Indian Parliament terrorist attack on 13 December 2001, the train service was discontinued amid security concerns.{{cite news |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/12/19/stories/2003121905561100.htm|title=Samjhauta Express from December 25?|last=Bhardwaj |first=P. K.|date=19 December 2003|work=The Hindu|location=India|access-date=16 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522063310/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/12/19/stories/2003121905561100.htm|archive-date=22 May 2008|url-status=dead}} Although it resumed service on 15 January 2004, the train was placed on high security. Just days before the attack, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri announced that he was going to Delhi on 21 February 2007 to meet with Indian government officials to continue peace talks and to sign a nuclear risk reduction agreement.{{cite news |title=Terror on agenda: Kasuri arrives, visits Samjhauta blast victims|work=The Times of India |location=India|date=20 February 2007 |access-date=1 July 2007|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1646561.cms}} {{Dead link|date=January 2012|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}{{bsn|date=February 2025}}

Details

{{Location map|India Haryana|float=right|label=Panipat|width=160|lat=29.23|long=76.58|position=right|caption=Location of Panipat within the state of Haryana}}

Twin blasts shook two coaches of the Samjhauta Express travelling between India and Pakistan at around 23:53 IST (18:23 UTC) on Sunday, 18 February 2007, shortly after the train had passed through the railway station in the village of Diwana, near the Indian city of Panipat.

{{cite news |title=Train bombing tests India-Pakistan ties |first=Somini |last=Sengupta |work=International Herald Tribune |date=19 February 2007 |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/19/news/india.php|access-date=19 February 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070220031031/http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/19/news/india.php| archive-date= 20 February 2007 | url-status= live}} One railway employee manning the level crossing at the time stated:

It was about 11.52 when I showed the signal lantern to the Attari [Samjhauta] Express which was coming in very fast, probably at over 100 kilometers an hour (62.1 mph). Just as [it] reached near the home signal, I could hear two loud explosions from the coaches near the guards' van at the rear.{{cite news|title=66 killed as Samjhauta Express becomes terror target |first=Hitender |last=Rao |work=Hindustan Times |location=India |date=19 February 2007 |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=8dda2692-f3f2-4096-aa7d-3c3b81c80791 |access-date=19 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930034553/http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=8dda2692-f3f2-4096-aa7d-3c3b81c80791 |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}{{bsn|date=February 2025}}

After the explosions, both carriages were engulfed in flames and many passengers were incapacitated by the smoke. Witnesses claim to have seen passengers screaming and attempting to escape, but since most of the train's windows were barred for security reasons, many could not escape in time. The injured were pulled out of the burning carriages by fellow passengers and local residents.

Victims

In the end, the terrorist attack left 68 people dead (43 Pakistan citizens, 10 Indian citizens and 15 unidentified) and 50 injured.{{bsn|date=February 2025}} Initial identification of the victims was hindered by the fact that many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. The rest of the train, which was left undamaged by the attack, continued on to the border town of Attari. There, passengers were transferred to a Pakistani train which took them to their destination in Lahore.

Aftermath

On 23 February, a Pakistani Air Force C-130 plane landed, upon being granted approval, in New Delhi to evacuate Pakistanis injured in the train bombing. Of the ten people to be evacuated, three were missing, all from the same family. Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson, Tasneem Aslam, claimed that the father, Rana Shaukat Ali, was harassed by Indian intelligence agency personnel at the Safdarjung Hospital. Aslam also said that Pakistan High Commission officials were denied entrance into the hospital. An Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Navtej Sarna, denied these allegations and stated that the patients would be taken to the airport. Sarna told the press that Ali's family was not missing, and that hospital doctors had decided not to allow Pakistani officials access into the hospital.{{cite news|title=Pakistani plane waits for hours|date=23 February 2007|last=Baruah|first=Amit|url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/23/stories/2007022308480100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224104930/http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/23/stories/2007022308480100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 February 2007|access-date=9 July 2007|work=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India}} He also stated that the C-130 plane had developed a problem and could not take off. Later, Aslam told press correspondents that the "[C-130] aircraft was still at the airport" and that Mr. Ali had chosen to travel back to Pakistan via a land route.{{cite news|title=Train attack probe: plea to Pakistan|date=24 February 2007|access-date=9 July 2007|last=Baruah|first=Amit|url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/24/stories/2007022404911200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303111052/http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/24/stories/2007022404911200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2007|work=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India}}

Despite the tensions between the two countries' External Affairs ministries, the C-130 aircraft took off from New Delhi at around 21:00 local time. After the incident, Ali criticised the media, who asked him for "stories for their publications at a time when I am not in my senses because of the death of my five children."{{cite news|title=Adieu to Pakistani brethren|date=25 February 2007|url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/25/stories/2007022520110800.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227030436/http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/25/stories/2007022520110800.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 February 2007|access-date=9 July 2007|work=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India}} He also stated that Indian officials showed him sketches of suspects, but he could not identify them.

Meanwhile, the Indian and Pakistan governments agreed to a bilateral pact to extend passenger train and freight services between the two countries until 2010.{{cite news|date=9 April 2007|title=India, Pak to continue running Samjhauta, Thar Express trains|work=Press Trust of India|location=Chennai, India|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200704091614.htm|url-status=dead|access-date=1 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930222032/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200704091614.htm|archive-date=30 September 2007}} In late April, the Indian and Pakistan governments initiated steps for safety and security measures for the Samjhauta Express. The two countries started sharing information on passengers travelling on the trains. The train is now under a reservation system, and as one Railway Ministry source said, "[w]ith no unreserved coaches, we now have complete passenger details from their ticket reservation data a few hours prior to their boarding, and departure of the train."{{cite news|date=28 April 2007|title=Safety measures initiated for Samjhauta Express|work=Press Trust of India|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/28samblast.htm|url-status=live|access-date=1 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710182304/http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/28samblast.htm|archive-date=10 July 2007}} Also in late April, three new coaches equipped with India's most advanced fire fighting systems were added to the Samjhauta Express. Indian Railway Ministry sources commented that the system acts with brake pressure, and this glass-encased system could throw water up to {{convert|15|m|ft}}.{{cite news|last=Vasuki|first=K. G.|date=25 April 2007|title=Coaches with fire fighting system for Samjhauta Express|work=United News of India|url=http://samjhauta-express-news.newslib.com/story/9881-170/|url-status=dead|access-date=1 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714174233/http://samjhauta-express-news.newslib.com/story/9881-170/|archive-date=14 July 2011}}

Investigation

The day after the bombing, Indian police stated that the suitcase bomb attack was the work of at least four or five people with a possible militant connection.{{cite news|title=Police release sketches of bomb suspects|work=Reuters|date=20 February 2007|first=Simon|last=Denyer|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSDEL34195220070221|access-date=20 February 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070223053236/https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSDEL34195220070221| archive-date= 23 February 2007 | url-status= live}} The police also released sketches of two suspects who the police Inspector General said had left the train just fifteen minutes before the explosions. The police say that one of the men was around 35 or 36 years old, "plumpish" and dark, with a moustache, and the second was around 26 or 27, wearing a scarf wrapped around his head. The police stated that both men were speaking Hindi.{{cite news|title=Images of Bomb Suspects |work=Sky News |date=20 February 2007 |access-date=20 February 2007 |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1252387,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20081204065332/http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1252387,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 December 2008 }} Another man, a Pakistani national who was drunk at the time, was being questioned because he said he threw one of the bomb-containing suitcases off the train. A senior Haryana state railway police official said that the man's "account has been inconsistent and we have no definite conclusions yet."{{cite news|title=Indian police release sketches of 2 suspects in bombing of India-Pakistan train|agency=Associated Press |date=20 February 2007 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-18-india-train_x.htm|access-date=4 July 2007 | work=USA Today}} Later, the Inspector General said "the suitcase was thrown on the track" and that the Pakistani national "was there and said he had thrown it."

In early March, Haryana police arrested two people from the city of Indore who allegedly sold the suitcases used in the bombing.{{cite news|title=Two held over Indian train blast|work=BBC News |date=14 March 2007 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6448671.stm |access-date=14 March 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070316101707/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6448671.stm| archive-date= 16 March 2007 | url-status= live}} No charges were pressed on the individuals. A probe conducted by the commissioner of Railway Safety officially determined that the explosions and fire on the Samjhauta Express had been caused by bombs located in the upper compartments in coaches GS 03431 and GS 14857.{{cite news|title=Samjhauta Express fire caused by bombs: Railway probe|work=Press Trust of India |date=26 March 2007 |url=http://ushome.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/26samblast.htm |access-date=1 July 2007}} The probe also showed that the train slowed to a speed of {{convert|20|km/h|mph}} just before it was going to pass the Diwana train station. The results strengthened the belief that the suspects got off the train before the explosions.{{cite news|title=Samjhauta Express slowed down before blasts|work=Press Trust of India|date=28 March 2007|access-date=1 July 2007|url=http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14419091|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184557/http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14419091|archive-date=30 September 2007|url-status=dead}} On 31 March, a 25-year-old man was interrogated after being arrested in Amritsar after jumping off a moving train under suspicious circumstances.{{cite news|title=Man interrogated in Samjhauta Express bomb blast case|work=The Indian Express|location=India|date=13 March 2007|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=226465|access-date=1 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202044128/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=226465|archive-date=2 December 2008|url-status=dead}}

In November 2008, it was reported that Indian officials suspected the attacks were linked to Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, an Indian army officer also alleged member of Hindu nationalist group Abhinav Bharat.{{cite news|author=Agencies |url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Purohit-supplied-RDX-for-Samjhauta-Express-blast-ATS/386143/ |title=Purohit supplied RDX for Samjhauta bomb: ATS |publisher=Express India |access-date=22 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123134329/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Purohit-supplied-RDX-for-Samjhauta-Express-blast-ATS/386143/ |archive-date=23 January 2011 }} Purohit himself claimed that he had "infiltrated" the Abhinav Bharat and he was only doing his job.{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/I-infiltrated-Abhinav-Bharat-Purohit/Article1-881014.aspx |title=I infiltrated Abhinav Bharat: Purohit |work=Hindustan Times|date=29 June 2012 |access-date=9 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515050930/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/I-infiltrated-Abhinav-Bharat-Purohit/Article1-881014.aspx |archive-date=15 May 2013}} {{bsn|date=February 2025}} During an army's Court of Inquiry as many as 59 witnesses stated to the court that Purohit was doing his job (of gathering intelligence inputs) by infiltrating extremist organizations.{{cite web |url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/lt-colonel-purohit-did-the-army-sell-short-an-effective-officer-237995 |title=Lt Colonel Purohit: Did the Army sell short an effective officer? |publisher=NDTV.com |date=30 June 2012 |access-date=9 March 2013 |quote=One by one, 59 witnesses, all from the Army, have told a Court of Inquiry – step one of Army's legal process- why they believe Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit was just doing his job by fraternising with right-wing extremists. ..Officers have testified that Lieutenant Colonel Purohit had, in the course of his duties, infiltrated organisations like the Students Islamic Movement of India or SIMI. This is exactly what he had been ordered to do as a military intelligence man. |archive-date=22 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122042844/http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/lt-colonel-purohit-did-the-army-sell-short-an-effective-officer-237995 |url-status=dead }} Officers have testified that he was doing what he was asked to do as a military intelligence man.

Investigators concluded that the suitcases used to make the suitcase bombs originated from Indore in India, based on their stitching.{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200811132161.htm |title=Police reach Mumbai to quiz Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya |work=The Hindu |location=Mumbai/Lucknow, India |date=13 November 2008 |access-date=15 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207070507/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200811132161.htm |archive-date=7 December 2008 }} Indian officials said they were prepared to share their findings with Pakistan.{{cite news|first=Nirupama |last=Subramanian |url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/25/stories/2008112559321000.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218052655/http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/25/stories/2008112559321000.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 December 2008 |title=India may share Samjhauta probe details with Pakistan |location=India|date=25 November 2008 |work=The Hindu |access-date=15 February 2009}}

In January 2010, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik accused India of not pursuing the case seriously, and of refusing to divulge details about the role of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit.{{cite news|url=http://news.oneindia.in/2010/01/24/pakblames-india-for-not-providing-details-about-samjhautae.html|title=Pak blames India for not providing details about Samjhauta Express bomb blast|date=23 January 2010|work=oneindia|access-date=31 January 2010|archive-date=13 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513071455/http://news.oneindia.in/2010/01/24/pakblames-india-for-not-providing-details-about-samjhautae.html|url-status=dead}} Malik alleged that Purohit had hired Pakistani extremists to carry out the bombing. In October 2010, an 806-page chargesheet prepared by the Rajasthan anti-terrorist squad revealed that the Samjhauta Express had been discussed as a potential target for an attack at a meeting of Hindutva bomb makers in February 2006; the group subsequently travelled to Indore.{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-blast-and-a-conspiracy/701976/0|title=A blast and a conspiracy|date=25 October 2010|work=The Indian Express |location=India|access-date=10 November 2010}}

In April 2016, Director General of NIA requested the United States government to provide information on LeT Key financier Arif Qasmani. The US charge sheet in 2009 accused Qasmani of funding the blasts.{{cite news|title=Samjhauta blasts: NIA seeks details of LeT financier Qasmani's role from US|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/samjhauta-express-blasts-nia-probes-lashkar-link-seeks-us-help/article8481122.ece|website=The Hindu|date=15 April 2016 |last1=Singh |first1=Vijaita }} Later, in April 2016, NIA declared that Lt Col Purohit was never an accused in the case and there was no evidence of his involvement in the bombing.{{cite web|title=Lt Col Purohit Not An Accused in Samjhauta Blast Case: National Investigation Agency|url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/lt-col-purohit-not-an-accused-in-samjhauta-express-blast-case-nia-1397352|website=NDTV}} Per India TV, top police officials in a meeting on 21 July 2010 had decided to hand over the investigation to NIA as Haryana Police failed to bring the case to any logical conclusion and had also decided to probe the role of Hindu groups. The Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hinted the UPA government had planted the angle of role of "Hindu terror" and questioned the suspect's release.{{bsn|date=February 2025}}

= Accused =

On 30 December 2010, National Investigation Agency claimed that they have solid evidence that Swami Aseemanand was the mastermind behind the blasts. He had roped in Sandeep Dange, an engineering graduate, and Ramji Kalsangra, an electrician, to build the improvised explosive devices used in the blasts.{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Direct-hand-of-Aseemanand-in-Samjhauta-blasts-NIA/Article1-644360.aspx |title=Direct hand of Aseemanand in Samjhauta blasts: NIA |work=Hindustan Times |location=India |date=30 December 2010 |access-date=17 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122132921/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Direct-hand-of-Aseemanand-in-Samjhauta-blasts-NIA/Article1-644360.aspx |archive-date=22 January 2011}}{{bsn|date=February 2025}} On 8 January 2011, Aseemanand confessed that Saffron terror outfits were behind the bombing of Samjhauta express,{{cite news|title=Aseemanand owns up to strike on Mecca Masjid|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Aseemanand-owns-up-to-strike-on-Mecca-Masjid/articleshow/7238763.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928172014/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-01-08/india/28376204_1_aseemanand-naba-kumar-sarkar-bomb-for-bomb-plan|url-status=live|archive-date=28 September 2011|access-date=8 January 2011|date=8 January 2011|author=Vishwa Mohan |newspaper=The Times of India|author2=Abantika Ghosh}}{{bsn|date=February 2025}} a statement his council later stated was obtained under duress.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928114219/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-01-10/india/28378569_1_nia-court-samjhauta-express-blasts-blasts-case Swami Aseemanand 'confessed' under duress], Times of India, 10 January 2011.{{bsn|date=February 2025}} Later, RSS sent a legal notice to CBI accusing it for deliberately leaking Swami Aseemanand's confession in media. RSS spokesman Ram Madavh called the investigation maligning of organisations and individuals.{{cite news|last=Iyer |first=Shekhar |title=Indresh lawyers issue notice to CBI for statement 'leak' |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Indresh-lawyers-issue-notice-to-CBI-for-statement-leak/Article1-647916.aspx |access-date=8 January 2011 |newspaper=Hindustan Times |date=8 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020130948/http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Indresh-lawyers-issue-notice-to-CBI-for-statement-leak/Article1-647916.aspx |archive-date=20 October 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/column/a-friend-remembers-terror-suspect-swami-aseemanand/20110118.htm |title=Swami Aseemanand, as I know him |work=Rediff.com |date=18 January 2011 |access-date=17 February 2012}}{{bsn|date=February 2025}}

However, in late March 2011, Aseemanand stated: "I have been pressurised mentally and physically by the investigating agencies to confess that I was behind these blasts."{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110404094948/http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers45%5Cpaper4404.html SAMJAUTA BLAST PROBE: MESSIER & MESSIER]}} South Asia Analysis Group – 2 April 2011 Aseemanand was charged on 20 June 2011 for planning the blast.{{cite news| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-20/india-charges-hindu-activists-for-2007-peace-train-blasts-that-killed-68.html | work=Bloomberg | first=Bibhudatta | last=Pradhan | title=India Charges Hindu Activists for Deadly Bombing of Pakistan Peace Train | date=20 June 2011| access-date= 20 June 2011 }} In November 2011, Indian High Courts issued a stay notice to the National Intelligence Agency on the point that Aseemanand was tortured and coerced in prison and on the allegations that the investigation agency itself was biased by its association to the United Progressive Alliance government[https://web.archive.org/web/20130511141753/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-29/india/30454293_1_special-nia-court-swami-aseemanand-samjhauta-blast-case HC notice to NIA on Aseemanand petition] The Times of India – 29 November 2010{{bsn|date=February 2025}} In early 2012, commentators started questioning the "Hindu" angle to the terror attacks, noting both the existence of an equally plausible "Muslim" angle[http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-is-hindu-terror-as-big-as-its-made-out-to-be/20120209.htm "No Open and Shut Cases of Hindu terror"] Rediff – 9 February 2012 and the near impossibility of proving any claims[http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/todays-newspaper/38842-agencies-worried-hindu-terror-tough-to-prove.html Agencies worried ‘Hindu terror’ tough to prove ] Daily Pioneer – 30 January 2012

Many initial reports suggested that the prime suspects in the bombing were the Islamic groups Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, both of whom have been blamed for many high-profile bombings in the past.{{cite news|title=Leaders condemn India train blast|work=BBC News|date=19 February 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6375749.stm| access-date= 16 February 2009 }} Retrieved on 19 February 2007 On 1 July 2009, the United States Treasury and UNSC placed sanctions on Lashkar-e-Toiba, and named Arif Qasmani as having played a role in the bombing.{{cite news |title=Treasury Targets Al Qaida and Lashkar-E Tayyiba Networks in Pakistan |publisher=US Treasury |date=1 July 2009 |url=http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/tg192.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708071804/http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/tg192.htm |archive-date=8 July 2009 |url-status=dead |access-date=22 July 2009}} In 2009, Qasmani was hit with a travel ban and an asset freeze by the 1267 committee of the United Nations Security Council[https://web.archive.org/web/20090707015024/http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/04/stories/2009070461031400.htm U.N. sanction on Lashkar operative a blow to Pakistan] The Hindu – 4 July 2009 Qasmani, as of 2011, was still the United States' main suspect in the Samjhauta bombing.[http://www.indianexpress.com/news/curious-case-of-qasmani-who-us-un-named-in-bombing/735185/0 Curious case of Qasmani, who US, UN named in bombing] Indian Express – 9 January 2011[https://www.npr.org/2011/05/12/136234805/foreign-policy-next-lets-get-bin-ladens-financiers Foreign Policy: Next, Let's Get Bin Laden's Financiers] National Public Radio – 12 May 2011

On 12 February 2012, the National Investigation Agency of India arrested a suspect identified as Kamal Chouhan, former RSS worker from the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh and conducted intense questioning. According to sources, Chouhan had a possible role in planting the bomb in the train. Chouhan is believed to be a close aide of Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, two key Indian suspects in the case on whom the agency has announced a cash reward of {{INR}} 1 million for information of their whereabouts.{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/335504/india-arrests-key-suspect-in-samjhauta-express-blast/|title=India arrests key suspect in Samjhauta Express blast|work=Express Tribune|date=12 February 2012|access-date=13 February 2012}}

The National Investigation Agency is likely to file a fresh chargesheet in a next couple of days which will name Kamal Chauhan and Amit Chauhan as the two alleged bombers who along with Lokesh Sharma and Rajendra Pehalwan allegedly planted the four suitcase bombs in the train.{{cite web|url= http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nia-to-name-samjhauta-bombers/985164/ |title= NIA to name Samjhauta bombers|date=8 August 2012}}

In late-June 2017, Times Now and India TV reported that a Pakistani national Ajmat Ali who was a suspect in the case were discharged within 14 days based on the statements of Gurdeep Singh who was the first investigation officer assigned to the case which were also mentioned in a deposition to a court 12 days earlier. Ali was arrested by Punjab police for not carrying valid papers and he was handed over to police of Haryana for interrogation. He was stated to match the description of the suspect who planted the bombs according to eyewitnesses and was accused of having used false identities by the police. Per a report, he had stated about undertaking reconnaissance of many prominent cities. He however was discharged by senior officials probing the case with the court order noting the police's statement that no proof had been found.{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/samjhauta-probe-ravi-shankar-questions-upa-cover-up/articleshow/59260622.cms|title=Samjhauta probe: Ravi Shankar questions UPA 'cover-up'|website =Times of India|date=22 June 2017 }}{{bsn|date=February 2025}}{{cite web|url=http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-samjhauta-express-blast-how-officials-connived-to-ensure-prime-accused-pakistani-national-was-let-off-despite-evidence-387479|title=Samjhauta Express blast: How officials connived to ensure prime accused Pakistani national was let off despite evidence to nail him| website=India TV|date=21 June 2017}}

A report carried by The Hindu in July 2017 contained a statement of one of the senior officer Bharti Arora who had directed the suspect to be discharged, had headed the SIT at that time and was named by Gurdeep Singh in his statement, stated that his statement was being misread. She added that Ali was properly interrogated and discharged when nothing was found against him. She also stated that she would take legal action against the channel stating a sting report of letting-off the suspects in 14 days, for what she claimed was a "false report". NIA stated it would not investigate the claims about the case till court orders.{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pak-man-not-involved-in-samjhauta-case/article19246265.ece|title=Pak. man not involved in Samjhauta case| website=The Hindu|date=9 July 2017 |last1=Singh |first1=Vijaita }}

The Hindustan Times carried a report in September 2008 of statements from the narco-analysis test conducted on SIMI's extremist wing chief Safdar Nagori as well as other leaders who were Kamruddin Nagori and Amil Parvez. Safdar at the time was of the blast was in a hospital in Madhya Pradesh due to a fractured hand. Per reports of the test, he stated that Abdul Razzaq was involved in the blast and had informed him the blasts would be carried out with the help of a few Pakistani nationals. Kamruddin and Amil Parvez had stated that Razzak was close to Nagori, had informed him and discussed about the blasts. Safdar however denied any meeting was held to plot the blast.{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/narco-tests-show-nagoru-knew-about-samjhauta-blasts/story-gxoxBZU0DyPc35SLoX7EMK.html|title=Narco tests show Nagoru knew about Samjhauta blasts|newspaper=The Hindustan times}}{{bsn|date=February 2025}} A video of Safdar's test was broadcast by Times Now in July 2017.{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/samjhauta-blast-simi-mans-narco-test-nails-pak-angle/articleshow/59747809.cms|title=Samjhauta blast: SIMI man's narco test 'nails' Pak angle| website =Times of India|date=25 July 2017 }}{{bsn|date=February 2025}} Rediff carried a report in 2011 that the later statements by Aseemanand on Sunil Joshi telling him of his role in the blasts had caused confusion among NIA and both the testimonies were contrary to each other.{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/report/slide-show-1-samjhauta-blasts-a-tale-of-two-confessions/20110113.htm#4|title=Samjhauta blasts: A tale of two confessions| website =Rediff|pages=1, 4}} Vikash Narain Rai, the former Haryana police officer who headed the SIT from 2007 to early 2010, told The Wire in June 2016 mentioned that the SIT's first suspect were Pakistan-based terror groups or organisations like SIMI, stating that they had investigated many Islamists including Nagori. He stated that it became clear they were not involved as investigations progressed.{{cite web|url=https://thewire.in/40962/2007-samjhauta-express-blast-case-vikash-narain-rai/|title=As NIA Now Pursues Islamist Angle, Investigator Sees Clear Hindutva Link to Samjhauta Bombing|website =The Wire}}

Per a report by The Indian Express, Razzaq who had been in prison since August 2005 after being deported from Iran, was interrogated after Safdar's narcoanalysis and brought Qasmani to the attention of Intelligence Bureau as a Lashkar financier. Per diplomatic sources due to this a dossier was given with Qasmani's purported involvement to the United States which according to a note recording an informal meeting between the NIA probe team and FBI was the cause for sanctions by Treasury Department on him. Razzaq was questioned by Madhya Pradesh and Haryana Police regarding the blast, but no evidence of his involvement was stated to be found. Some police officers had also questioned the reliability of narcoanalysis, barred in USA and Europe, with a senior NIA officer stating that they had nothing but the statements of a man given under the effect of sodium pentathol.

On 20 March 2019, Special NIA court acquitted all four accused."The NIA Special Court has concluded that the investigating agency has failed to prove the conspiracy charge and ruled that accused deserve a benefit of doubt", NIA Counsel RK Handa said. .{{cite web|url=http://theindependent.in/nia-fails-to-find-killers-of-68-samjhauta-express-passengers/|title=NIA fails to find killers of 68 Samjhauta Express passengers|website =TheIndependent.in|date=20 March 2019 }}

Reactions

=India=

The Indian government and media initially began pointing the finger at Pakistan for the terror attacks. Widespread condemnation of Pakistan ensued, particularly from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, and Pakistan was accused of harbouring terrorists and intentionally derailing peace attempts with India.

Indian Minister of Railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav, condemned the incident

{{cite news|last=Pandey|first=Alok|author2=Rati R|author3=Sushmit Sengupta|author4=Vikram Chowdhury|name-list-style=amp|date=19 February 2007|title=Cross border tragedy: Samjhauta Express blasts kill 66|work=NDTV|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070002287|url-status=dead|access-date=19 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926225840/http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070002287|archive-date=26 September 2007}} and went on to say that the attack was "an attempt to derail the improving relationship between India and Pakistan."

He also announced compensation payments of Rs. 1,000,000 (approx. €17,500 or US$22,750) for the next-of-kin of each of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured.{{cite news|last=Swami|first=Praveen|date=19 February 2007|title=Samjhauta Express firebombed, 67 killed|work=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India|url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/20/stories/2007022012520100.htm|url-status=dead|access-date=19 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221023502/http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/20/stories/2007022012520100.htm|archive-date=21 February 2007}}

Home Minister Shivraj Patil claimed that "whoever is behind the incident is against peace and wants to spoil our growing relationship with other countries". Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed "anguish and grief" at the loss of life, and vowed that the culprits would be caught. India's foreign ministry also promised to issue visas for Pakistani relatives of those killed or injured in the blasts.

{{cite news|date=19 February 2007|title=India offers visas after train attack|work=Press Trust of India|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070002256|url-status=dead|access-date=19 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926225935/http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070002256|archive-date=26 September 2007}} Indian journalist Siddharth Varadarajan argued that the peace process should stay on track and that any wavering would be tantamount to surrendering to terrorism.{{cite news|last=Varadarajan|first=Siddharth|author-link=Siddharth Varadarajan|date=19 February 2007|title=Keep the peace process on track|work=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India|url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/20/stories/2007022005101000.htm|url-status=dead|access-date=19 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221052900/http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/20/stories/2007022005101000.htm|archive-date=21 February 2007}}

=Pakistan=

The government of Pakistan reacted in the same vein, through its Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, proclaiming this an act of terrorism that should be investigated by Indian authorities. Kasuri said that the terrorist attack would not halt his trip to India, as he "will be leaving tomorrow for Delhi to further the peace process." He went on to say that "we should hasten the peace process."{{cite news|date=19 February 2007|title=Musharraf says train blasts won't sabotage peace|agency=Reuters|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/02/20/d70220130182.htm|url-status=live|access-date=19 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223034309/http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/02/20/d70220130182.htm|archive-date=23 February 2007}} In response to the terrorist attack, President Pervez Musharraf stated "such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desired objective of sustainable peace between the two countries." Musharraf also said that there must be a full Indian investigation of the attack. In regards to the upcoming peace talks, he stated "we will not allow elements which want to sabotage the ongoing peace process to succeed in their nefarious designs."