The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing was a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

attack that occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the

Samjhauta Express The Samjhauta Express () was a bi-weekly train — Thursday and Monday — that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan. The word ''Samjhauta'' means "agreement", "accord" and "compromise" in both Hindi and Urdu. Unti ...

, a twice-weekly train service connecting

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, India, and

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, Pakistan. Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed Diwana near the Indian city of

Panipat Panipat () is a historic city in Haryana, India. It is 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on List of National Highways in India, NH-1. The three major battles fought in First Battle of Panipat, 1526, Second Battle of ...

, north of New Delhi. 70 people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured. Of the 70 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians. The victims also included some Indian civilians and three railway policemen. 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 Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to disrupt improving

relations Relation or relations may refer to: General uses *International relations, the study of interconnection of politics, economics, and law on a global level *Interpersonal relationship, association or acquaintance between two or more people *Public ...

between the two nations, since the attack came just a day before Pakistani

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri was to arrive in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

to resume peace talks with Indian leaders. India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged eight people in the terrorist attack, including

Swami Aseemanand Swami Aseemanand (born Naba Kumar Sarkar) is an Indian Hindu renunciate and Hindu nationalist Terror accused who was accused of masterminding the Ajmer Dargah bombing, Mecca Masjid blast, and the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings— before bei ...

, a Hindu cleric formerly affiliated with the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family" ...

. 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. It has been allegedly linked to

Abhinav Bharat Abhinav Bharat is a Hindu militant organization founded by retired Indian Army Major Ramesh Upadhyay in 2006 in Pune, India. It has a large base in Madhya Pradesh. The organization is believed to be the revived form of the pre-Independence era Ab ...

, a

Hindu fundamentalist Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" or the correct term ''Hindū rāṣṭ ...

group in India.The Mirror Explodes
– Outlook – 19 July 2010 Allegations were also concurred on

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

, an Islamic fundamentalist terror group in Pakistan. US review finds five warnings of Headley's militant links
DNA India – 8 November 2010 A United States report declared Arif Qasmani to be involved in the attack. Consequently, after consulting with the United Nations, the United States declared him an international terrorist. 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 Safdar Nagori (born 1969) was the General-Secretary of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), an Islamist organization designated as a terrorist organization by the Government of India. On 27 February 2017, a court in Indore sentenced ...

, 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. The later statements of

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 Intelligence Bureau may refer to: * Intelligence Bureau (India) * Intelligence Bureau (Pakistan) * Intelligence agency See also *Intelligence Bureau for the East, a World War I German organisation *Intelligence agency *National Intelligence Servic ...

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.

Background

Since their formation resulting from the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947, India and Pakistan have had a conflict-ridden relationship. In their plan for the partition, the British allowed all 565

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

s to decide which country they wanted to join. 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 Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

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 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (resulting in the formation of Bangladesh), and the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

in 1999. Since the 1980s, militants in Jammu and Kashmir have targeted attacks on civilians, members of the government and the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. Some groups, like the Islamist militant organisations

Lashkar-e-Toiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

and

Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed ( ur, , literally "The Army of Muhammad", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistan-based: "The JEM is a Pakistan-based, militant Islamic group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000." Deobandi: "Deobandis like Masood Azha ...

, 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. In recent years, the Indian and Pakistani governments have made attempts to bring peace or to at least calm the tensions between the countries. One such attempt in the peace process came with the launch of the

, so-named because the word ''samjhauta'' means "accord" and "compromise" in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and Attari in India and Wagah and

in Pakistan. Launched in 1976, the Samjhauta Express served as the only rail connection between the two countries until the launch of the

Thar Express The ''Thar Express'' ( hi, थार एक्सप्रेस, ur, , Sindhi: ٿر ايڪسپريس) was an international passenger train that ran between the a suburban area of Jodhpur in the Indian State of Rajasthan and of Karachi in t ...

. 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. Although it resumed service on 15 January 2004, the train was placed on high security. Just days before the attack, Pakistani

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.

Details

Twin blasts shook two coaches of the Samjhauta Express travelling between India and Pakistan at around 23:53

IST Ist or IST may refer to: Information Science and Technology * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Science and Technology * Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Japan * Graduate School ...

(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

. One railway employee manning the

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...

at the time stated:

It was about 11.52 when I showed the signal lantern to the Attari amjhautaExpress which was coming in very fast, probably at over 100 kilometers an hour (62.1 mph). Just as treached near the home signal, I could hear two loud explosions from the coaches near the guards' van at the rear.

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 70 people dead and 50 injured. Most of the dead and injured were Pakistani nationals, though some Indians, including railway workers, were also killed. 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

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 Navtej Singh Sarna (born 1957) is an Indian author-columnist, diplomat and former List of ambassadors of India to the United States, Indian Ambassador to the United States. He previously served as the High Commission of India to the United Kingd ...

, 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. He also stated that the C-130 plane had developed a problem and could not take off. Later, Aslam told press correspondents that the " -130aircraft was still at the airport" and that Mr. Ali had chosen to travel back to Pakistan via a land route. 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." 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. 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, " th 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." 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 .

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. The police also released sketches of two suspects who the police

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

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 also stated that both men were speaking

. 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." 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 Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

police arrested two people from the city of

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

who allegedly sold the suitcases used in the bombing. 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. The probe also showed that the train slowed to a speed of 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. On 31 March, a 25-year-old man was interrogated after being arrested in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

after jumping off a moving train under suspicious circumstances. 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

. Purohit himself claimed that he had "infiltrated" the Abhinav Bharat and he was only doing his job. 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. 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

in India, based on their stitching. Indian officials said they were prepared to share their findings with Pakistan. In January 2010, Pakistan Interior Minister

Rehman Malik Abdul Rehman Malik NI ( Punjabi, Urdu: رحمان ملک; born 12 December 1951 – 23 February 2022) was a Pakistani politician and a Federal Investigation Agency officer, having served as the Interior Minister from being appointed on 25 Marc ...

accused India of not pursuing the case seriously, and of refusing to divulge details about the role of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit. 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. 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. 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. 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 Ravi Shankar Prasad (born 30 August 1954) is an Indian politician and lawyer, from the Bharatiya Janata Party. A Member of Parliament since 2000, first in the Rajya Sabha (2000-2019) and then in the Lok Sabha (since 2019), Prasad has served as Un ...

hinted the UPA government had planted the angle of role of "Hindu terror" and questioned the suspect's release.

Accused

On 30 December 2010,

National Investigation Agency The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the primary counter-terrorist task force of India. The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written ...

claimed that they have solid evidence that

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. On 8 January 2011, Aseemanand confessed that

Saffron terror Saffron terror is a neologism used to describe acts of violence motivated by Hindutva. Hindu extremism is usually perpetrated by members, or alleged members, of Hindu nationalist organisations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or Abhina ...

outfits were behind the bombing of Samjhauta express, a statement his council later stated was obtained under duress. 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. However, in late March 2011, Aseemanand came out and stated: "I have been pressurised mentally and physically by the investigating agencies to confess that I was behind these blasts."SAMJAUTA BLAST PROBE: MESSIER & MESSIER
South Asia Analysis Group – 2 April 2011 Aseemanand was charged on 20 June 2011 for planning the blast. 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 United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...

government In early 2012, commentators started questioning the "Hindu" angle to the terror attacks, noting both the existence of an equally plausible "Muslim" angle and the near impossibility of proving any claims Many initial reports suggested that the prime suspects in the bombing were the Islamic groups

and

, both of whom have been blamed for many high-profile bombings in the past. 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 Arif or Aref may refer to: *Arif, a local name for the Rif mountains in northern Morocco *Arif (given name) *Arif (surname) *‘arif, a concept in Sufism, see Ma'rifa *Arif gang The Arifs are a South East London-based Turkish people, Turkish c ...

as having played a role in the bombing. In 2009, Qasmani was hit with a travel ban and an asset freeze by the 1267 committee of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

Qasmani, as of 2011, was still the United States' main suspect in the Samjhauta bombing. 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 Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

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 1 million for information of their whereabouts. 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. 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. A report carried by ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' 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. '' The Hindustan Times'' carried a report in September 2008 of statements from the narco-analysis test conducted on SIMI's extremist wing chief

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

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. A video of Safdar's test was broadcast by Times Now in July 2017. ''

Rediff Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

'' 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. 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. Per a report by ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' Razzaq who had been in prison since August 2005 after being deported from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, was interrogated after Safdar's narcoanalysis and brought Qasmani to the attention of

as a Lashkar financier. Per diplomatic sources due to this a dossier was given with Qasmani's purported involvement to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

which according to a note recording an informal meeting between the NIA probe team and

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

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 Sodium thiopental, also known as Sodium Pentothal (a trademark of Abbott Laboratories), thiopental, thiopentone, or Trapanal (also a trademark), is a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anesthetic. It is the thiobarbiturate analog of pe ...

. 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. .

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 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

, and Pakistan was accused of harbouring terrorists and intentionally derailing peace attempts with India. Indian

Minister of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure. ...

Lalu Prasad Yadav Lalu Prasad Yadav (born 11 June 1948) is an Indian politician and president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He is a former List of Chief Ministers of Bihar, Chief Minister of Bihar (1990-1997), a former Ministry of Railways (India), Railway ...

, condemned the incident 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. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

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.

Home Minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...

Shivraj Patil Shivraj Vishwanath Patil (born 12 October 1935) is an Indian politician who was the Minister of Home Affairs of India, from 2004 to 2008 and 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. He was Governor of the state of Punjab and Administra ...

claimed that "whoever is behind the incident is against peace and wants to spoil our growing relationship with other countries". Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

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. Indian journalist

Siddharth Varadarajan Siddharth Varadarajan (born 1965) is a journalist and editor in India. He was a former editor of the English language national daily ''The Hindu'', and is one of the founding editors of the Indian digital news portal ''The Wire'', along with ...

argued that the peace process should stay on track and that any wavering would be tantamount to surrendering to terrorism. The opposition

condemned the attacks and petitioned the ruling

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

to ask Pakistan to comply with its 2004 promise to crack down on

cross-border terrorism State-sponsored terrorism is terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent non-state actors. States can sponsor terrorist groups in several ways, including but not limited to funding terrorist ...

. The party also argued for a harsher anti-terror bill to take a "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism in India.

Pakistan

The

government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

reacted in the same vein, through its

Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, proclaiming that this was 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." In response to the terrorist attack,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

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."

Others

In the United Kingdom,

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

minister Kim Howells condemned what he termed "utterly shameful" attacks, offered his "condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured", and offered "the Governments of India and Pakistan whatever assistance they require, to bring to justice the perpetrators of this brutal attack." Leaders in the British Pakistani community called the terrorist attack a "despicable act" and urged for a speedy investigation into the tragedy so that those responsible could be arrested and jailed. In the United States, the Bush administration condemned those responsible for the bomb explosions aboard the Samjhauta Express. On behalf of the United States government,

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

spokesman David Almacy stated:

We express our deepest sorrow for this tragedy and extend condolences to the families of the victims. We appreciate the leadership of Indian Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh and Pakistani President (Pervez) Musharraf, and condemn those who seek to undermine the progress in relations between the two countries.

References

Bibliography

External links

Wikinews:Bombing on train from India to Pakistan kills at least 68
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samjhauta Express Bombings, 2007 2007 in international relations 2007 murders in India 21st-century mass murder in India February 2007 crimes February 2007 events in India Improvised explosive device bombings in 2007 Improvised explosive device bombings in India Mass murder in 2007 Massacres in India India–Pakistan relations Panipat Railway accidents and incidents in Haryana Terrorist incidents in India in 2007 Train bombings in Asia