No proof against Col Purohit in Samjhauta Express blast case: NIA

NEW DELHI :  There is no evidence of involvement of Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit in the Samjhauta express blast case of 2007 according to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the sources said here today.

”There is no evidence against him in the Samjhauta case. However, the inquiry in the Malegaon case against him will continue,” a senior NIA official said.

Earlier this month, Colonel Purohit had also written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar stating that there is no evidence against him in the Samjhauta case, he is unnecessarily being kept behind the bars, and his honour, rank and wages be restored accordingly.

The NIA had charge sheeted eight people, including Colonel Purohit and Swami Aseemanand, in a case pertaining to bomb blasts in Attari express (Samjhauta) train near Panipat on February 18, 2007. As many as 68 passengers had died and several injured in the bomb blast.

The second case pertains to bomb blasts in Malegaon on September 29, 2008, in which four people were killed and several injured. The NIA had taken over the case from Anti-Terrorism Squad of Maharashtra.

The sources said the NIA investigators had come to conclusion that there was no proof of Colonel Purohit’s involvement in Samjhauta blast quiet sometime ago but they were consulting the top official in the Government and the legal experts before making such submissions in the designated anti-terror court. (AGENCIES)