The entire conspiracy of the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast will unravel with arrests of key persons declared wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) like Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange. Home ministry sources said the arrests of the key suspects is essential to corroborate Swami Aseemanand’s confession of their role in the terror blast and the conspiracy behind it. Government sources said that it would take atleast a few months before the NIA is able to file a chargesheet in the Samjhauta case. “It all depends on how early the agency is able to arrest the key suspects,” an MHA official said.
The NIA, which has launched a manhunt for Kalsangra, Dange and Ashwini Chauhan alias Amit, is also looking for two more persons belonging to Gujarat whom it believes were closely involved in the Samjhauta blast conspiracy.
Kalsangra had an electronics shop in Indore and Dange is an engineering graduate. The NIA suspects that Kalsangra and Dange were instrumental in making the bomb which was planted on the Samjhauta Express which killed 68 people, mostly Pakistanis. A government official said that the bomb was “sophisticated” in nature as compared to the bombs used later to carry out the Mecca Masjid and Ajmer blasts. This has surprised investigators since all three blasts are pointing towards the role of alleged Hindu extremists.
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Ajmer: ATS intensifies probe
AGE CORRESPONDENT
JAIPUR
Jan. 23: The ATS has intensified its investigation after taking Aseemanand in custody in connection with the Ajmer blast case. He has been considered a key figure in the Dargah blast case. Aseemanand refused to take help from a worker of a Hindu organisation in Ajmer to provide him a lawyer.
According to the sources, when Hindu organisation’s worker contacted him and offered help, he refused. His refusal raised many eyebrows and taken as Aseemanand wanted to maintain distance with the Hindu organisation.
The ATS had already arrested five persons in the blast case, including RSS worker Devendra Gupta.
The local court in Ajmer had granted police custody for Aseemanand till February 5.