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.
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.
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".
Aseemanand, a member of right-wing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat, has been in jail since December 2010.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On March 8 this year, Aseemanand and six others were acquitted in the 2007 Ajmer blast case by a court in Jaipur.
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.
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.
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.
'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.'
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.
'He never had anything to substantiate his allegations while dropping names. It was done more to divert the investigation,' NIA sources tell Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
The court also observed that working for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh does not make a person communal and anti-social.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On a petition filed by the National Investigation Agency challenging the verdict of its special court in Samjhauta Express blast case, the Punjab and Haryana high court issued a notice to accused Aseemanand for November 8.
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.
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.
Along with Aseemanand, Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Chandrashekher Leve, Bharat Mohan Rateshwar, Jarshad Bhjai and Mukesh Wasani have been charged under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC.
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.
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 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.
Rajasthan Anti Terrorist Squad has pleaded in a local court that Aseemanand, an activist of right-wing Hindu group 'Abhinav Bharat', and three other accused in Ajmer Dargah blast case should not be allowed to be taken out of the state by other probe agencies because of security reasons.
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 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.
Judge Dinesh Gupta let off the right-wing activist and six others, giving them "benefit of doubt".
'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.
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