Smjhauta Express Butchery: Not Swami But Act of Indian Army... Part-II

On cold night of 18^th February 2007, Samjhota Express departed New Delhi Railway Station towards Lahore with 7 bogies at 12:45. Moving at high speed when this train reached in the District Panipat, 50 miles away  most of the passengers of the train were having deep sleep. Train did not slow down at Panipat railway station however after getting out of Panipat city, on the Deewana railway station it slowed down. According to eye witnesses and passengers of train the speed of train was so much slow that any one can easily climb the train or leave it, this point is of much importance. As soon as train got out of Deewana railway station it again gathered its speed however it had traveled only 12 kilometers when the assistant driver realized a sharp light in the back of the train. When he looked backwards the last bogies were burning into flames. He at once reported the situation to driver. When the train suddenly stopped into the deserted area the passengers woke up. The cries of the passengers burning alive in the bogies filled the environment with horror. The fire was so intense that it was impossible tog o near the burning bogies.  But people succeeded in opening the gates of the burning bogies and saving some of the passengers, however fire was out of their control. The local people also came there but the bogies were engulfed by flames. They all were helplessly watching passengers burning alive in the fire.

The representatives of media from Panipat arrived before the fire brigade. Indian media haulted their normal broadcast and started the propaganda campaign on the Samjhota Express tragedy blaming Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) and Jash-e-Muhammad. Pakistani media also tried to out do others by broadcasting Indian propaganda as it is. Without paying any attention that why LeT and Jash-e-Muhammad will target the train or the Indian blame on the organizations active in Held Kashmir is actually ISI. Due to fierce propaganda Pakistani govt. forgot about its passengers and got busy in defending itself. Because the tragedy of Malegaon has occurred 5 months ago, Indian police has arrested Suleman Farsi, Farooq Iqbla Makhdoomi, Raeed Ahmad, Noor-ul-Huda and Shabir Beri Wala and had claimed that these persons are agents of LeT trained by ISI. They were also brought in front of media, all the majority of the casualties in Malegaon bomb blasts was of Muslims but due to effective Indian propaganda world was forced to believe that may be Kashmiri freedom fighters have changed their policy and started targeting Muslims.

When India accused LeT and Jash-e-Muhammad for Samjhauta Express tragedy world had no ground to reject it. This was the reason that when Pakistan demanded the dead bodies of those who died in this tragic incident, Indian govt. replied that it is nor possible these bodies for more than 72 hours and will be buried in Panipat. Indian not only rejected to hand over the dead bodies but also did not hand over the list of the passengers. Under no law India had right to burying the dead bodies in spite of handing it over to Pakistan, but she was afraid that if the dead bodies are handed over to Pakistan the chemical used to burn the bogies will be unveiled. Pakistani Foreign Ministry and our electronic media always had soft corner towards India. In case of Samjhuata Express federal cabinet of Pakistan gave up the right of getting the dead bodies and just kept repeating the demand to hand over the lists of passengers and keep abreast of the investigations. But no pressure was seen from Pakistani side while our electronic media did not say anything which might have made Indians worried or there was a chance of hurting the AMAN KI AASHA. The result of our excusive attitude was that India paid 1 million rupees to the relatives of the Indian passengers who died in this terrorist attack; this was announced on 19^th February 2008, while relatives of Pakistani passengers were not paid anything. Because India wanted to prove that when Pakistan is involved in this terrorist attack than why Pakistani passengers should be paid?

The propaganda against LeT and Jash-e-Muhammad had not stopped that on 18^th May 2007, a bomb blast in Makkah Masjid martyred at least 14 worshippers. Indians arrested 80 Muslims on the basis of doubt, however except 25, rest were released. These 25 persons were accused of being the agents of LeT. Although Indian Muslims protested against it that how many persons can be involved in the planning of a bomb blast and why will Muslims target the Mosque? At this India replied that in Pakistan Muslims are busy in targeting Mosques through bomb blast. After 5 months when another bomb blast hit Ajmer Shareef, India arrested 3 Muslim youth Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Khusheb Rahman and Imran Ali. By accusing Muslims in every terrorist attack India got that benefit that the doubts against Pakistan got support in the international community. However the Chief of Maharashtar ATS, Hemant Karkare was observing the whole situation from a different angle. According to his research extremist Hindus were involved in these terrorist activities. The statement of Narismandan Soti, President of “All India Brahman Mahasbha Organization” supported Karkare.

In January 2007 talking to journalists Narismandan has said, “ISI is working on the establishment of another Pakistan within India, after Jammu and Kashmir Uttar Pradesh is the next important center for the activities of ISI, in order to tackle this situation the groups of Hindu suicide bombers are necessary”. This statement was published in the Indian newspapers as headline.

Famous daily “Hindu” published a 4 column news report on its main page with the headline “Hindu Mahasbha to set up suicide squad”. The silence of western media biased against Pakistan on this disclosure of Hindu extremist leader is explainable but what about Free Electronic Media of Pakistan? The research of Hemant Karkare had proved that in spite of Muslims, Hindu extremists are involved in these bomb blasts but one question had worried him. The question was that who is specifying targets to them, providing them with explosives and training them to plant the bomb. He and his colleagues were not ready to accept that Hindu extremist movements like Sanadhan Sanstha or Bajrang Dal were getting training out of India.

During his research Karkare was also trying to solve this mystery that in the past whenever Hindu extremists were found involved in terrorist activities and investigators sought help from Military Intelligence, many chains of the investigation disappeared and investigators were puzzled because they had nothing left to prove Hindu extremists as culprits. The investigators were misled in very suspicious ways and they had to close the file of the case. Karkare did not want to have any doubt about MI but on ground realities were forcing him to do so. In august 2008 during the assembly a bomb accidentally blasted in a house in which two agents of Rashtriya Sevik Singh (RSS) Harnand Panse and Narain Raj Kandoor died. It was very important news but Indian media suppressed it, but the information he got from their, Karkare succeeded in reaching to the Pragiya Singh Thakur. After tracing the mobile calls of Pragiya Singh, Karkare not only got proof that some officers of MI are involved with Pragiya Singh Thakur but they are also planning bomb blasts in Malegaon. This disclosure was not less than a joke for him that two on duty officers of Indian are also in contact with Pragiya Singh. The whole team of ATS was on his back but he was unable to arrest on duty Army officers without solid evidence. Karkare was much worried. Ex Police Commissioner of Mumbai, “Julio Ribeiro” has always supported him and encouraged him but now he was also asking to remain careful. Kakrare wanted to arrest the planners before the bomb blasts, but in this way it was feared that many culprits will go underground especially it would have been difficult to arrest army officers.

In this chaos on 29^th September 2008 two bomb blasts hit the Malegaon. These bombs were planted within in Muslim populated area, 7 Muslims were martyred and many were injured. As per usual Muslims were blamed for these attacks and it was announced that an organization named as “Indian Mujahideen” is behind this terrorist activity and has accepted the responsibility for these bomb blasts. This was the extreme courage, govt. support and back up of Indian army, RAW and MI that the motorcycle used in these bomb blasts was registered in the name of Sadhvi. Police and other agencies were trying to waste such important evidence but Karkare decided to jump into this game of fire. He arrested Sadhvi on 23^rd October 2008. this was just beginning, under the collected evidences and recorded conversation Major Ramesh Apadhe was second target of Karkare, on the same day Sumeer Kalkirni was arrested as well. But the real jolt was felt when on 31^st October 2008, on duty officer of Indian army, Lt. Col. Purohit was arrested under the charges of providing financial support and explosives for Malegaon bomb blasts. The anger of extremist Hindus for arrest of Nari of Madhiya Pardesh, working as Chief of Women wing of Vishva Hindu Pareshad had not subsided, that Karkare arrested Swami Amartanand (actual name Diyanand Pandey). The Swami Amartanand of Bajrang Dal was influential as Mahatma in India. Through the arrest of on duty army officer and such an influential purohit the damned face of India was unveiled. Not only this the investigations proved that in all the bomb blasts within India, Indian army, Military Intelligence, RAW and Hindu extremists were involved. The disclosures of realities in such a way were not less then a shock for India. It was impossible for Indian media to suppress such reports because different internet websites were publishing news as they were happening. The recording of Col. Purohit issued on internet badly destroyed credibility of Indian army. In the recording at a point Col. Purohit is saying;

“We are all on the same plane, “Hindu Rashtra” and General J.J. Singh is with us”.

Here I would like to mention that Chief of Indian Army General J.J. Singh was retired in September 2007.

In the other recording Col. Purohit is heard saying,

“One of our own Captains had visited Israel for training and meting and demanded four things from Israel i.e. continuous and uninterrupted supply of arms and office with a Saffron flag in Tel Aviv”.

The above recorded conversation had been published by “The Time of India”, “Tehelka.com” and “The Mirror” after the arrest of Col. Purohit and before 26 November 2008 Mumbai Attacks. Not only this Outlook published an edition with the title page of “Saffron in Uniform” and filled the whole edition with the criticism of Indian army. The effects of criticism over Indian army were also felt in the Indian parliament, two members demanded in the parliament that Chief of Indian Army should be called and questioned that whether Indian army is an institute of terrorists or national army? Many other members supported this demand and speaker announced that Chief of Indian Army will be called. Still the date of the calling of Indian army Chief had to be ascertained that General Deepak Kapoor visited Indian President and cleared that his calling in parliament and asking of the questions will have negative effects over India’s stability. Neither after the disclosure made by Karkare in his dutifulness and love for his country that “Indian army and Hindu Extremists are involved in destruction of Samjhauta Express”, Pakistan did not express any reaction, nor over media gave it any importance. In spite of knowing this that Indian govt. and media are utilizing all of their resources to get Pakistan declared as a “Terrorist State” on the international level. They are themselves killing hundreds of innocents through bomb blasts just to defame Pakistan. Now the nature has unveiled the truth and provided a chance to prove that Pakistan is not a terrorist state but India is involved in state terrorism, its army officers are not only supplying explosives but more then 2 million rupees to every terrorist. But we wasted such an important chance to prove that we are not guilty. I have to say that with sad heart that if we had demanded at that time that Pakistan should be allowed to investigate from Col. Purohit directly as well as conduct investigations of Smjhauta Express tragedy along with India, then now the situation would have been much more different. Possibly in order to murder Hemant Karkare Indian army and MI had planned something else in spite of Mumbai drama, or at least had not succeeded in defaming Pakistan by accusing that Pakistan is involved in Mumbai attacks. Now India has changed its stance. In order to get its army clear it has accused “Swami Asemnand and Co.” belonging to a Hindu Extremist movement known as “Abhinav Bharat”. While in contrast to this the persons that were arrested by Karkare or he wanted to arrest only Sumeer Kalkirni had a link with Abhinav Bharat, while all others were belonging to MI, Indian Army or other secret Indian agencies. Just issuing a statement from our side that we should be informed about the investigations and then keeping silent is not enough. We should question India that the Chief of ATS RAGHU WANSHI who took the charge after KARKARE, where had put all the evidences against Col. Purohit and Indian army. Moreover we should also demand that India should allow our investigators to investigate from Swami Asemnand and Col. Purohit. If India did not accept our demand then Pakistan should not conduct any talks with India. Our Foreign Ministry should inform the whole world that India is trying to save actual culprits of Samjhauta Express Tragedy i.e. on duty Indian army officers by accusing members of extremist movement…

Urdu Copy:

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Written By Khalid Baig,

Published in Daily Nawa-i-Waqt,

Date 29 January 2011.