'It is hard to connect this Hindu terror mastermind over-drive with the Swami Aseemanand of tribal simplicity and boundless energy, whom I have known since the last 11 years and interacted with closely.'
A court in Panchkula, Haryana on Thursday extended the judicial custody of Swami Aseemanand till June 7 after the National Investigation Agency assured the judge that a chargesheet will be filed against the Samjhauta blast case accused before the next date of hearing.The hearing in the case took place through video-conferencing, with the accused lodged in a central jail in Ambala.
On March 8 this year, Aseemanand and six others were acquitted in the 2007 Ajmer blast case by a court in Jaipur.
The CBI arrested Aseemanand on November 19 for his alleged involvement in the Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad in which nine persons were killed. He was earlier living under a fake identity in Haridwar and had also procured fake identity cards.
Aseemanand, a member of right-wing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat, has been in jail since December 2010.
The confession of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak Swami Aseemanand about, his involvement in the blasts in Hyderabad's historic Mecca Masjid, Ajmer's Khwaja Moinuddin Dargah and many other places, has surprised his followers and detractors alike.
Judge Dinesh Gupta let off the right-wing activist and six others, giving them "benefit of doubt".
The National Investigation Agency is likely to question right-wing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat member Swami Asimanand for his alleged involvement in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case.He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on November 19 for his alleged involvement in the Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad that left nine people dead. The Samjhauta train blast left 68 people dead.
The confessional statement of arrested Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha member Swami Aseemanand has created a stir and for the investigating agencies, who claim that this will help the investigation.
The verdict came after National Investigation Agency special judge Jagdeep Singh dismissed the plea filed by a Pakistani woman for examining eyewitnesses from her country, saying it was "devoid of any merit".
A chargesheet was filed on Monday against right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand by the National Investigation Agency for his alleged role in the conspiracy behind the 2007 Mecca Masjid blasts that left nine people dead.
Samjhauta blast accused Swami Aseemanand on Wednesday denied in court that he had ever met with Kamal Chauhan, who has accepted that he bombed the train that left 68 dead in February 2007.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing the Ajmer and Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blasts, say that their case will not be complete unless and until they manage to lay their hands on Swami Aseemanand -- who is believed to be the father of the right wing groups carrying out subversive activities in the country.
'A government which is so inefficient, what hope of justice can we have from them?' RSS leader Indresh Kumar tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.
While the National Investigation Agency is convinced that Swami Aseemanand, a Hindu right-wing leader, was involved in the Samjhauta Express blasts that killed 68 people in 2007, they feel that he is not the mastermind behind the attack. The swami's confessions point out that though he was aware of the attack, it was planned by Sunil Joshi, Aseemanand's alleged right hand man, who was murdered in mysterious circumstances in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh on December 29, 2007.
Investigators probing Samjhauta Express blast case have claimed to have found evidence of right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand's alleged involvement in the 2007 terror act. "After the probe by the National Investigation Agency it is getting clear that Aseemanand and his accomplices were involved in Samjhauta blast," sources privy to the investigation said.
Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case, was on Friday remanded in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation for seven days by a local court.
Swami Aseemanand, the main accused in the Ajmer Dargah blast case, has given a sealed letter to a court in Ajmer with a request to keep its contents confidential.
After interrogating Swami Aseemanand for seven days, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday sought an additional 15-day custody of the preacher in connection with 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case.
The bail plea of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the Samjhauta Express blast, was rejected by a sessions court. Assemanand's bail plea, filed on the ground that the National Investigation Agency failed to file a charge-sheet within 90 days, was rejected by the court of district and sessions judge. Aseemanand denied having made any statement to the NIA about his involvement in the Samjhauta blast case.
A local court on Friday rejected the application of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in several terror cases, to turn an approver in the Ajmer Dargah blast after he claimed the plea was filed under the pressure from investigating agencies.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday began interrogation of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case, after taking him into their custody from Chanchalguda Central Prison in Hyderabad, official sources said.
Investigators probing the acts of terror allegedly carried out by right-wing groups at Malegaon, Ajmer and Hyderabad are now looking for one Swami Aseemanand and his accomplice.The police have been looking for Swami Aseemanand since the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in October 2009 in connection with the Malegaon blasts. The ATS had picked up incriminating intercepts of his conversation with the Sadhvi.
Hindutva preacher Swami Aseemanand and four others were acquitted in the Mecca Masjid blast with the judge saying that the prosecution failed to prove "even a single allegation" against them.
Swami Aseemanand, the main accused in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, was on Thursday remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a court in Panchkula, Haryana.The counsel for the right-wing group Abhinav Bharat member said the National Investigation Agency told the court that it did not require further custody of the accused as it has completed its investigation.
Hindu right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand, an accused in several terror cases, has moved a court seeking to withdraw his application to turn a witness in the Ajmer Dargah blast case even as the Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad on Friday said it is planning to file a chargesheet against him on April 8.
Capping four years of probe, the National Investigation Agency on Monday charged Swami Aseemanand and four others with triggering explosions in the cross-border Samjhauta Express in 2007 that left 68 people dead.
The Central Bureau of Investigation rejected the allegation that its officials were behind the leak of Ajmer Dargah blast accused Swami Aseemanand's confessional statement and sought to put the blame on a journalist.
Aseemanand, who confessed to being in the know of the Mecca Masjid, Samjhauta, Ajmer and Malegaon blasts, also stated prior to his confession that it was a boy named Abdul Kaleem, who inspired him to make this confession before the magistrate
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Sunday accused the Congress-led government of trying to "malign the image of Hindu leaders by terming them as terrorists" and claimed it was the 'greatest lie' that Swami Aseemanand has confessed to the Samjauta Express blast."We are trying to enlighten the people. If the Congress tries to entangle Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders, then a movement will be started against them (Congress)," said Ashok Singhal
A Delhi court on Friday asked the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation to explain how the confessional statement of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the Ajmer dargah blast case, was leaked to the media. The court asked the probe agency to file its response on February 15. The court's order came during the hearing of an application filed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary Devendra Gupta, seeking registration of an FIR against CBI and 'Tehelka' magazine.
Swami Aseemanand, arrested in the Samjhauta train blast case, on Monday claimed he was not involved in the bombing and was made to give a confession under duress by the National Investigation Agency.
The Bharatiya Janata Party sought to project Swami Aseemanand's reported confession of his involvement in Samjhauta blast as a diversionary tactic by Congress in the wake of latest revelations in the Bofors case, accusing the ruling party of giving leverage to Pakistani terrorists by throwing the blame on Hindu radicals for their acts.
There seems to be no respite for Swami Aseemanand, who also goes by the alias Jatin Chatterjee. After being quizzed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the 2007 Ajmer and Mecca Masjid bomb blast case, in which he is an accused, the National Investigating Agency is now saying that they want to interrogate the swami in connection with the Samjautha train blasts.
Swami Aseemanand, an accused in 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case, was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana high court but he is unlikely to come out of jail as he is facing a trial in two other blast cases.
Swami Aseemanand appears to have become a habitual retractor. After his explosive interview in to the Caravan, the accused in the Samjhauta Express, Hyderabad Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Dargah blasts denied speaking to the magazine.
Not satisfied with the Central Bureau of Investigation's two-page report refuting allegation of leaking the confessional statement of Ajmer dargah blast accused Swami Aseemanand, a Delhi court on Tuesday asked the director of the agency to file a complete report on the issue.
Wearing multiple identities of religious preacher, science student and terror accused, the saffron robed Aseemanand, once known as the most wanted man in India, was the alleged link between the series of three bombings that ripped through India in 2007.
Latching on to reports about Swami Aseemanand's claim about RSS leadership "sanctioning" some terror acts, Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Friday flayed the National Investigation Agency for not yet taking in Sangh leader Indresh Kumar for interrogation.
Pakistan on Friday summoned India's deputy high commissioner and lodged a protest over the Indian government's failure to contest the conditional bail to Swami Assemanand, chargesheeted in connection with the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast that killed 68 people, including 42 Pakistanis.
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