India slams Pakistan for politicising Samjhauta Express blast case judgement

NEW DELHI: India on Friday slammed Pakistan for politicising the Samjhauta Express blast case judgement in which all four accused were acquitted last week by a special court in Haryana. Rejecting the assertions made by Pakistan, India said that Islamabad is indulging in gimmicks.

"We reject Pakistan's attempt to politicise the matter. It is being done to deflect there attention from failure in bringing perpetrator of several terrorist attacks in India and the region to justice," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. 

He also said that Pakistan must take "immediate, credible and irreversible measures against cross border terror without any discrimination and wthout resorting to such gimmicks."

After the case verdict, Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria was summoned by Acting Foreign Secretary in Islamabad. Lodging a strong protest on the acquittal, Pakistan had called the judgement a travesty of justice and one that "exposes the sham credibility of the Indian Courts."

Coming down heavy on Pakistan, the MEA spokesperson said: "There is complete lack of understanding on the Pakistani side as to how our judiciary functions. We have an independent judiciary whose functions are guaranteed by the Constitution and it has been acknowledged by the international community. In all the cases that come up before the court, a due process is followed, same due process was also followed in this case."

He also added that the judgement was based on the merit of the case and taking into account all the witnesses and material that wwas disposal of court. "We respect the verdict of court," he said.

India has also said that despite its request to summon the witnesses in Pakistan, no action was taken.

A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Panchkula had Wednesday acquitted all four accused - Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary in the 2007 Samjhauta blast case. 

The blast in Samjhauta Express had occurred near Panipat in Haryana on 18 February 2007, when the train was on its way to Attari in Amritsar, the last railway station on the Indian side. The blast had ripped apart two coaches of Samjhauta Express.

The NIA filed a chargesheet in the case in June 2011 and indicted eight persons for their alleged roles in the terror attack. Of the eight persons, Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary appeared before the court and faced trial.

Blast mastermind Sunil Joshi was shot and killed near his home in the district of Dewas, in Madhya Pradesh in December 2007, while three other accused - Ramchandra Kalsangra, Sandeep Dange and Amit could be never apprehended and were declared proclaimed offenders.