NEVER ARRESTED: Where are those accused of planting bomb in Samjhauta Express?

Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

NewsBits.in

NEW DELHI/BHOPAL: One of the biggest terror attacks in India, the Samjhauta Express bombing case has ended with none of the culprits getting convicted due to failure of investigative agencies in producing evidence.

The result is that no one is going to jail for 68 people who were killed in this terror strike that happened more than 12 years ago. 

The case collapsed as despite years of investigation, multiple agencies failed to even arrest the three main persons who are proclaimed offenders in the case and remain absconding even today. 

They include Sandeep Dange, an engineer from a prestigious engineering college in Indore, Ramji Kalsangra, who also hails from Indore and Amit Chauhan alias Prince. They've been on the run and none of the agencies--ATS, CBI and NIA could catch them. 

Sleuths had gathered that they were hiding in Nepal but still they couldn't be tracked, said sources. While CBI had earlier announced Rs 10 lakh reward on Kalsangar and Dange, the NIA also announced a cash reward of the same amount for them. These arrests were crucial but couldn't take place--resulting the case collapsing. 

The charge-sheets clearly said that the task of Samjhauta Express and similar other bombings was handed to Sunil Joshi, the former RSS pracharak, and his module had perpetrated the deadly attack. After Joshi was found dead in mysterious circumstances and his case also got buried, the arrest of the three persons was of utmost importance.

Agencies claimed to have made efforts for arrest but they seemed half-hearted. Never this (the faces of trio) was shown on TV channels, newspaper seldom covered the story or why the trio--the faces behind right-wing terrorism, remained at large, and there was no serious hunt for them. 

The bombing had occurred on February 18, 2007 near Panipat in Haryana. The GRP that was investigated the case found that the cover of one the suitcase in which IED was planted and the one that hadn't exploded, had been purchased from Kothari Market in Indore. It had 'Apolo 600' written on the cover that matched with handwriting of the person at whose tailoring shop the suitcase covers were stitched.

The module and the link with Modasa, Ajmer Dargah other cases

Joshi was the handler and his module--Kalsangra, Dange and Amit Chauhan apart from some others including Lokesh Shrama, Devendra Gupta, Samundar and others, was found involved in other cases too and there was conviction in the case of terror attack at Ajmer Dargah. NIA had taken over the case in July 2010 but the case moved slowly in later years.

Earlier, the agency had arrested Kamal Chauhan from Indore and also questioned Shivam Dhakad. NIA probe had lost steam. It seemed that there was no serious hunt for the main accused. Joshi had been murdered in Dewas on December 29, 2007 and MP police charge sheet laid blame on 'his own men'.

The judge mentioned that it was with depe pain and anguish the judgment had to be concluded that the dastardly act of violence remained unpunished for want of credbile evidence and due to gaping holes in prosecution evidence.

The judgment's last para clearly mentions that the, "file shall not be destroyed as it can be summoned as and when proclaimed offenders i.e. Sandeep Dange alias Parmanand alias Teacher, Amit alias Ashok alias Prince alias Sunny alias Amit Chowhan alias Ashwani alias Ramesh Venkat Mahalkar alias Amit Hakla and Ramchandra Kalsangra alias Ramji alias Vishnu Patel are arrested or surrender themselves in the court...".