A special court in Haryana on Wednesday acquitted Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary in the Samjhauta train blast case that killed 68 people in 2007. Most of the victims of the Samjhauta Express blasts in February 2007 were Pakistani nationals.
While dismissing the plea filed by a Pakistani woman, who wanted eyewitnesses from Pakistan to be examined, special judge Jagdeep Singh said that her petition had no merit.
Four improvised explosive devices were planted on Samjhauta Express, the only rail link between India and Pakistan, on 18 February, 2007. In the resulting explosion, 68 lives were lost. The NIA court framed charges against Aseemanand and three others, namely Kamal Chauhan, Rajinder Chaudhary and Lokesh Sharma in January 2014 . All of them were present in the court on Wednesday, reported news agency IANS.
The verdict in the Samjhauta Express evoked strong reactions on social media.
No one killed 68 people on February 19, 2007. They died on their own. All accused including main accused Aseemanand, a former RSS member acquitted in Samjhauta Express blast today. #acchedin for some.
— vijaita singh (@vijaita) March 20, 2019
Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajender Chaudhary acquitted in the Samjhauta blasts. Another clean chit to right wing terror in India. https://t.co/WjiUgTMNwe
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) March 20, 2019
This Hindutva terrorist Swami Aseemanand is accused of killing 68 mostly Muslims including 42 Pakistanis but Modi Govt helps him to go free – On which moral ground will India blame Pakistan & China now for Masood Azhar? https://t.co/b6RgzdewQn
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) March 20, 2019