Hindu extremist confesses involvement in Samjhauta Express bombing
Swami Aseemanand, leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has confessed involvement in blasts on Samjhauta Express.
NEW DEHLI:
A Hindu extremist leader has confessed that he was involved in several bombings incidents. He claimed to have been a part of the India-Pakistan Samjhauta Express train bombing in 2007 in which 68 Pakistani nationals were killed, said a media report released on Friday.
Swami Aseemanand is said to be a leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu group that shares close ties with India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. It was reported that he had been arrested by authorities in November.
According to latest issue of Tehelka weekly magazine, Aseemanand confessed before a judicial magistrate and said he and his fellow RSS activists were involved in blasts on Samjhauta Express; at mosques in Malegaon in Maharashtra state and Andhra Pradesh's state capital, Hyderabad; and a Muslim shrine in Ajmer in Rajasthan.
Aseemanand in his confession reportedly said that the bombings were in retaliation to Muslim militants attacking Hindu temples. “I told everyone that a bomb must be responded with a bomb,” Aseemanand exhorted.
At least 38 people were killed and over 100 injured in blasts that quivered the Muslim-majority town of Malegaon in September 2006.
Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad in May 2007 claimed 14 lives whereas three died and 15 were injured in blast at a Sufi shrine in Ajmer in October 2007.
Aseemanand’s confession has turned out to be a blessing for investigators who have been probing bombings targeting Muslims for several years.
A Hindu extremist leader has confessed that he was involved in several bombings incidents. He claimed to have been a part of the India-Pakistan Samjhauta Express train bombing in 2007 in which 68 Pakistani nationals were killed, said a media report released on Friday.
Swami Aseemanand is said to be a leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu group that shares close ties with India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. It was reported that he had been arrested by authorities in November.
According to latest issue of Tehelka weekly magazine, Aseemanand confessed before a judicial magistrate and said he and his fellow RSS activists were involved in blasts on Samjhauta Express; at mosques in Malegaon in Maharashtra state and Andhra Pradesh's state capital, Hyderabad; and a Muslim shrine in Ajmer in Rajasthan.
Aseemanand in his confession reportedly said that the bombings were in retaliation to Muslim militants attacking Hindu temples. “I told everyone that a bomb must be responded with a bomb,” Aseemanand exhorted.
At least 38 people were killed and over 100 injured in blasts that quivered the Muslim-majority town of Malegaon in September 2006.
Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad in May 2007 claimed 14 lives whereas three died and 15 were injured in blast at a Sufi shrine in Ajmer in October 2007.
Aseemanand’s confession has turned out to be a blessing for investigators who have been probing bombings targeting Muslims for several years.