NIA trying to weaken case against saffron terrorists in Samjhauta blasts too?

New Delhi, Apr 16: Amidst report of a massive state sponsored conspiracy to give clean chit to saffron terrorists, the National Investigation Agency under PM Narendra Modi led government has allegedly made an attempt to give a new twist to the Samjhauta Express terror attack case.

The NIA had arrested a few leaders of extremist Hindutva groups in connection with the Samjhauta train blasts of 2007 a few years ago. However, now the NIA Director-General Sharad Kumar has requested the US for information on a key financier of the Lashkar-e-Taiba in the case.

According to reports, this might be an attempt to soften the case against RSS leader Aseemanand in the Samjhauta case by making enquiries about Arif Qasmani, who was designated a global terrorist by the U.N. 1267 Sanctions Committee.

Mr. Kumar said he had gone to the U.S. “to pursue pending requests under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). The case of LeT financier Arif Qasmani was one of them, and we have asked them [U.S. authorities] to send further details of Qasmani's role in the Samjhauta blasts.”

Mr. Kumar's statement comes on the heels of a series of moves by the NIA to review cases of “Hindu terror” between 2006 and 2008. Sixty-eight people, mostly Pakistanis, were killed in the Samjhauta train blasts in February 2007, and the explosives were traced to Indore.

In the 2008 Malegaon blasts, the NIA opposed the discharge of nine Muslim youths last week, despite its charge sheet having named Abhinav Bharat, an extremist group.