2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings were a terrorist
attack that occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express
, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi
, India
, and Lahore
, Pakistan
. Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed Diwana station near the Indian city of Panipat
, 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) north of New Delhi
. Sixty-eight people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured. Of the 68 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians, but the victims included some Indian civilians and Indian military personnel guarding the train.
Investigators subsequently found evidence of suitcases with improvised explosive device
s (IEDs) and flammable material, including three undetonated IEDs. Inside one of the suitcases containing the undetonated IEDs, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was packed alongside a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and chemicals. After the bombings, eight unaffected carriages were allowed to continue onwards to Lahore with passengers.
Both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to disrupt improving relations between the two nations, since the attack came just a day before Pakistani Foreign Minister
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
was to arrive in New Delhi to resume peace talks with Indian leaders. There have been a number of breaks in the investigation of the bombings. As of 2011, nobody has been charged for the crime though it has been linked to Abhinav Bharat
, a shadowy group headed by former Indian army officer Prasad Shrikant Purohit
. Other allegations also concurred on Lashkar-e-Taiba
.
in 1947, India and Pakistan have had a conflict-ridden relationship. In their plan for the partition, the British allowed all 565 princely state
s to decide which country they wanted to join. Most Hindu-majority princely states acceded to the Republic of India, while most Muslim-majority princely states joined the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The decision made by the leaders of some of these princely states has been a source of conflict and tension between the two countries. Kashmir
is one of these princely states—its population was mostly Muslim, but the Hindu ruler Hari Singh
of the state decided to join India. The countries have fought four wars over this disputed region: the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
(resulting in the formation of Bangladesh), and the Kargil War
in 1999. Since the 1980s, militants in Jammu and Kashmir have targeted attacks on civilians, members of the government and the Indian Army
. Some groups, like the Islamist militant organisations Lashkar-e-Toiba
and Jaish-e-Mohammed
, believe that Kashmir should be integrated into Pakistan, while others—such as the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front
—believe it should become an independent state. All told, thousands of civilians have died due to the insurgency.
In recent years, the Indian and Pakistani governments have made attempts to bring peace or to at least calm the tensions between the countries. One such attempt in the peace process came with the launch of the Samjhauta Express
, so-named because the word samjhauta means "accord" and "compromise" in Hindi and Urdu, the national languages of India and Pakistan, respectively. This twice-weekly train service runs between Delhi
and Attari
in India and Wagah
and Lahore
in Pakistan. Launched in 1976, the Samjhauta Express served as the only rail connection between the two countries until the launch of the Thar Express
. Given the nature of the transnational service and the ongoing violence in the region, the Samjhauta Express was always heavily guarded, as it was a high-risk target for terrorist attacks. Weeks after the Indian Parliament terrorist attack
on 13 December 2001, the train service was discontinued amid security concerns. Although it resumed service on 15 January 2004, the train was placed on high security. Just days before the attack, Pakistani Foreign Minister
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
announced that he was going to Delhi on 21 February 2007 to meet with Indian government officials to continue peace talks and to sign a nuclear risk reduction agreement.
(18:23 UTC
) on Sunday, 18 February 2007, shortly after the train had passed through the railway station in the village of Diwana, near the Indian city of Panipat
. One railway employee manning the level crossing
at the time stated:
After the explosions, both carriages were engulfed in flames and many passengers were incapacitated by the smoke. Witnesses claim to have seen passengers screaming and attempting to escape, but since most of the train's windows were barred for security reasons, many could not escape in time. The injured were pulled out of the burning carriages by fellow passengers and local residents.
In the end, the terrorist attack left 68 people dead and 50 injured. Most of the dead and injured were Pakistani nationals, though some Indians, including railway workers, were also killed. Initial identification of the victims was hindered by the fact that many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. The rest of the train, which was left undamaged by the attack, continued on to the border town of Attari
. There, passengers were transferred to a Pakistani train which took them to their destination in Lahore
.
The Indian government and media initially began pointing the finger at Pakistan for the terror attacks. Widespread condemnation of Pakistan ensued, particularly from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party
, and Pakistan was accused of harboring terrorists and intentionally derailing peace attempts with India.
Indian Minister of Railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav
, condemned the incident and went on to say that the attack was "an attempt to derail the improving relationship between India and Pakistan."
He also announced compensation payments of Rs.
1,000,000 (approx. €
17,500 or US$22,750) for the next-of-kin of each of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured.
Home Minister
Shivraj Patil
claimed that "whoever is behind the incident is against peace and wants to spoil our growing relationship with other countries". Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
expressed "anguish and grief" at the loss of life, and vowed that the culprits would be caught. India's foreign ministry also promised to issue visas for Pakistani relatives of those killed or injured in the blasts. Indian journalist Siddharth Varadarajan
argued that the peace process should stay on track and that any wavering would be tantamount to surrendering to terrorism.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party
condemned the attacks and petitioned the ruling Indian National Congress
to ask Pakistan to comply with its 2004 promise to crack down on cross-border terrorism. The party also argued for a harsher anti-terror bill to take a "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism in India
.
reacted in the same vein, through its Foreign Minister
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
, proclaiming that this was an act of terrorism that should be investigated by Indian authorities. Kasuri said that the terrorist attack would not halt his trip to India, as he "will be leaving tomorrow for Delhi to further the peace process." He went on to say that "we should hasten the peace process." In response to the terrorist attack, President
Pervez Musharraf
stated "such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desired objective of sustainable peace between the two countries." Musharraf also said that there must be a full Indian investigation of the attack. In regards to the upcoming peace talks, he stated "we will not allow elements which want to sabotage the ongoing peace process to succeed in their nefarious designs."
, Foreign Office
minister Kim Howells
condemned what he termed "utterly shameful" attacks, offered his "condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured", and offered "the Governments of India and Pakistan whatever assistance they require, to bring to justice the perpetrators of this brutal attack." Leaders in the British Pakistani
community called the terrorist attack a "despicable act" and urged for a speedy investigation into the tragedy so that those responsible could be arrested and jailed.
The Bush administration condemned those responsible for the bomb explosions aboard the Samjhauta Express. On behalf of the United States
government, White House
spokesman
David Almacy stated:
spokesperson, Navtej Sarna
, denied these allegations and stated that the patients would be taken to the airport. Sarna told the press that Ali's family was not missing, and that hospital doctors had decided not to allow Pakistani officials access into the hospital. He also stated that the C-130 plane had developed a problem and could not take off. Later, Aslam told press correspondents that the "[C-130] aircraft was still at the airport" and that Mr. Ali chosen to travel back to Pakistan via a land route. Despite the tensions between the two countries' External Affairs ministries, the C-130 aircraft took off from New Delhi at around 21:00 local time. After the incident, Ali criticized the media, who asked him for "stories for their publications at a time when I am not in my senses because of the death of my five children." He also stated that Indian officials showed him sketches of suspects, but he could not identify them.
said had left the train just fifteen minutes before the explosions. The police say that one of the men was around 35 or 36 years old, "plumpish" and dark, with a moustache, and the second was around 26 or 27, wearing a scarf
wrapped around his head. The police also stated that both men were speaking Hindi
. Another man, a Pakistani national who was drunk at the time, was being questioned because he said he threw one of the bomb-containing suitcases off the train. A senior Haryana state railway police official said that the man's "account has been inconsistent and we have no definite conclusions yet." Later, the Inspector General said "the suitcase was thrown on the track" and that the Pakistani national "was there and said he had thrown it."
In early March, Haryana
police arrested two people from the city of Indore
who allegedly sold the suitcases used in the bombings. No charges were pressed on the individuals. A probe conducted by the commissioner of Railway Safety officially determined that the explosions and fire on the Samjhauta Express had been caused by bombs located in the upper compartments in coaches GS 03431 and GS 14857. The probe also showed that the train slowed down to a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12.4 mph) just before it was going to pass the Diwana train station. The results strengthened the belief that the suspects got off the train before the explosions. On 31 March, a 25-year-old man was interrogated after being arrested in Amritsar
after jumping off a moving train under suspicious circumstances.
In November 2008, it was reported that Indian officials also suspected the attacks were linked to Prasad Shrikant Purohit
, an Indian army officer and member of Hindu nationalist group Abhinav Bharat
. Investigators concluded that the suitcases used to make the suitcase bombs originated from Indore
in India, based on their stitching. Indian officials said they were prepared to share their findings with Pakistan.
Initial reports suggested that the prime suspects in the bombing were the Islamic groups Lashkar-e-Toiba
and Jaish-e-Mohammed
, both of whom have been blamed for many high-profile bombings in the past. On July 1, 2009, the United States Treasury and UNSC placed sanctions on Lashkar-e-Toiba, and named Arif Qasmani as having played a role in the bombing but later it was proved differently and it was proved that the Hindu terrorist group Abhinav Bharat
was the perpetrator of the attacks. In January 2010, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik
accused India of not pursuing the case seriously, and of refusing to divulge details about the role of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit. Malik alleged that Purohit had hired Pakistani extremists to carry out the bombing. In October 2010, an 806-page chargesheet prepared by the Rajasthan anti-terrorist squad revealed that the Samjhauta Express had been discussed as a potential target for an attack at a meeting of Hindutva bomb makers in February 2006; the group subsequently travelled to Indore.
On December 30, 2010, National Investigation Agency
claimed that they have solid evidence that Swami Aseemanand
was the mastermind behind the blasts. He had roped in Sandeep Dange, an engineering graduate, and Ramji Kalsangra, an electrician, to build the improvised explosive devices used in the blasts. On January 8, 2011, Aseemanand confessed that Saffron terror
outfits were behind the bombing of Samjhauta express, a statement later alleged to be obtained under duress. Later RSS sent a legal notice to CBI accusing it for deliberately leaking Swami Aseemanand's confession in media. RSS spokesman Ram Madavh called the investigation maligning of organizations and individuals.
However, in late March 2011, Aseemanand came out and stated: "I have been pressurised mentally and physically by the investigating agencies to confess that I was behind these blasts."
Aseemanand was indicted on June 20th 2011 for planning the blast.. NIA also decided to top chargesheet RSS leader Indresh Kumar in its supplementary charge sheet of the case. His role was earlier cropped up during Ajmer Dargah blast case and was also named by Rajasthan Anti Terrorist Squad chargesheet.
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
attack that occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express
Samjhauta Express
The Samjhauta Express commonly called the Friendship Express, is a twice-weekly train Tuesdays and Fridays that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan. The word samjhauta means "Understanding","accord" and "compromise" in both Hindi and Urdu.Until the reopening of the Thar...
, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed Diwana station near the Indian city of Panipat
Panipat
Panipat بَنِبَت is an ancient and historic city in Panipat district, Haryana state, India. It is 90 km north from Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-1. The three battles fought at the city were turning points in Indian history. The city is famous in India by the name of "City of...
, 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) north of New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. Sixty-eight people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured. Of the 68 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians, but the victims included some Indian civilians and Indian military personnel guarding the train.
Investigators subsequently found evidence of suitcases with improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
s (IEDs) and flammable material, including three undetonated IEDs. Inside one of the suitcases containing the undetonated IEDs, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was packed alongside a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and chemicals. After the bombings, eight unaffected carriages were allowed to continue onwards to Lahore with passengers.
Both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to disrupt improving relations between the two nations, since the attack came just a day before Pakistani Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri is a Pakistani politician and diplomat. He was the Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 2002 to 2007.- Family background :Khurshid M. Kasuri belongs to one of the old political families of Pakistan...
was to arrive in New Delhi to resume peace talks with Indian leaders. There have been a number of breaks in the investigation of the bombings. As of 2011, nobody has been charged for the crime though it has been linked to Abhinav Bharat
Abhinav Bharat
Abhinav Bharat can refer to two organizations one of which is an Hindu nationalist organisation based mainly in Maharashtra in India. The Hindu nationalist organization gained prominence when its members were arrested for allegedly perpetrating the Malegoan bombing...
, a shadowy group headed by former Indian army officer Prasad Shrikant Purohit
Prasad Shrikant Purohit
Lt. Col. Shrikant Prasad Purohit is an Indian Army officer who is accused of charges of terrorism, as the alleged chief architect of the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings. The attack took place on the Samjhauta Express, a train that connects Lahore, Pakistan with Delhi, the capital of India...
. Other allegations also concurred on Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
.
Background
Since their formation resulting from the Partition of IndiaPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
in 1947, India and Pakistan have had a conflict-ridden relationship. In their plan for the partition, the British allowed all 565 princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
s to decide which country they wanted to join. Most Hindu-majority princely states acceded to the Republic of India, while most Muslim-majority princely states joined the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The decision made by the leaders of some of these princely states has been a source of conflict and tension between the two countries. Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
is one of these princely states—its population was mostly Muslim, but the Hindu ruler Hari Singh
Hari Singh
Maharaja Hari Singh was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in India.He was married four times...
of the state decided to join India. The countries have fought four wars over this disputed region: the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
The India-Pakistan War of 1947-48, sometimes known as the First Kashmir War, was fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four wars fought between the two newly independent nations...
, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
(resulting in the formation of Bangladesh), and the Kargil War
Kargil War
The Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
in 1999. Since the 1980s, militants in Jammu and Kashmir have targeted attacks on civilians, members of the government and the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
. Some groups, like the Islamist militant organisations Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
and Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistani-based, militant Islamic group established by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000...
, believe that Kashmir should be integrated into Pakistan, while others—such as the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front
The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front , founded by Amanullah Khan and Maqbool Bhat, is a Kashmiri nationalist organization founded in Birmingham, UK on May 29, 1977. From then until 1994 it was an active terrorist organization with branches in several cities and towns of the UK, and in several other...
—believe it should become an independent state. All told, thousands of civilians have died due to the insurgency.
In recent years, the Indian and Pakistani governments have made attempts to bring peace or to at least calm the tensions between the countries. One such attempt in the peace process came with the launch of the Samjhauta Express
Samjhauta Express
The Samjhauta Express commonly called the Friendship Express, is a twice-weekly train Tuesdays and Fridays that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan. The word samjhauta means "Understanding","accord" and "compromise" in both Hindi and Urdu.Until the reopening of the Thar...
, so-named because the word samjhauta means "accord" and "compromise" in Hindi and Urdu, the national languages of India and Pakistan, respectively. This twice-weekly train service runs between Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and Attari
Attari
Attari is a villageof Amritsar District in the Punjab state of India. It lies on the rail route connecting Lahore, Pakistan with the Indian capital Delhi. The Samjhauta Express, the train service that actually crosses the international border, only runs from Attari station to Wagah, Pakistan a...
in India and Wagah
Wagah
Wagah is the only road border crossing between Pakistan and India , and lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of Lahore, Pakistan and Amritsar, India. Wagah itself is a village through which the controversial Radcliffe Line was drawn. The village was divided by independence in 1947...
and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
in Pakistan. Launched in 1976, the Samjhauta Express served as the only rail connection between the two countries until the launch of the Thar Express
Thar Express
Thar Express is an international train that connects Karachi, Pakistan to Bhagat Ki Kothi, India. Six kilometres apart, Munabao and Khokhrapar are the two last railway stations of the India-Pakistan border. Jamrao, Mirpur Khas, Shadi Pali, Saeendad, Barmer, Pithoro, Dhoro Naro, and Chhore are some...
. Given the nature of the transnational service and the ongoing violence in the region, the Samjhauta Express was always heavily guarded, as it was a high-risk target for terrorist attacks. Weeks after the Indian Parliament terrorist attack
2001 Indian Parliament attack
The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a high-profile attack by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists against the building housing the Parliament of India in New Delhi...
on 13 December 2001, the train service was discontinued amid security concerns. Although it resumed service on 15 January 2004, the train was placed on high security. Just days before the attack, Pakistani Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri is a Pakistani politician and diplomat. He was the Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 2002 to 2007.- Family background :Khurshid M. Kasuri belongs to one of the old political families of Pakistan...
announced that he was going to Delhi on 21 February 2007 to meet with Indian government officials to continue peace talks and to sign a nuclear risk reduction agreement.
Details
Twin blasts shook two coaches of the Samjhauta Express travelling between India and Pakistan at around 23:53 ISTIndian Standard Time
Indian Standard Time is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a time offset of UTC+05:30. India does not observe daylight saving time or other seasonal adjustments, although DST was used briefly during the Sino–Indian War of 1962 and the Indo–Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971...
(18:23 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
) on Sunday, 18 February 2007, shortly after the train had passed through the railway station in the village of Diwana, near the Indian city of Panipat
Panipat
Panipat بَنِبَت is an ancient and historic city in Panipat district, Haryana state, India. It is 90 km north from Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-1. The three battles fought at the city were turning points in Indian history. The city is famous in India by the name of "City of...
. One railway employee manning the level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
at the time stated:
It was about 11.52 when I showed the signal lantern to the Attari [Samjhauta] Express which was coming in very fast, probably at over 100 kilometers an hour (62.1 mph). Just as [it] reached near the home signal, I could hear two loud explosions from the coaches near the guards' van at the rear.
After the explosions, both carriages were engulfed in flames and many passengers were incapacitated by the smoke. Witnesses claim to have seen passengers screaming and attempting to escape, but since most of the train's windows were barred for security reasons, many could not escape in time. The injured were pulled out of the burning carriages by fellow passengers and local residents.
In the end, the terrorist attack left 68 people dead and 50 injured. Most of the dead and injured were Pakistani nationals, though some Indians, including railway workers, were also killed. Initial identification of the victims was hindered by the fact that many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. The rest of the train, which was left undamaged by the attack, continued on to the border town of Attari
Attari
Attari is a villageof Amritsar District in the Punjab state of India. It lies on the rail route connecting Lahore, Pakistan with the Indian capital Delhi. The Samjhauta Express, the train service that actually crosses the international border, only runs from Attari station to Wagah, Pakistan a...
. There, passengers were transferred to a Pakistani train which took them to their destination in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
.
India
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
, and Pakistan was accused of harboring terrorists and intentionally derailing peace attempts with India.
Indian Minister of Railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance government, and the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party...
, condemned the incident and went on to say that the attack was "an attempt to derail the improving relationship between India and Pakistan."
He also announced compensation payments of Rs.
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
1,000,000 (approx. €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
17,500 or US$22,750) for the next-of-kin of each of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured.
Home Minister
Minister for Home Affairs (India)
The Home Minister, or more properly the Minister for Home Affairs, is a position in the Indian Cabinet, at both State and Union levels. The Home Ministry is one of the most important, powerful and high profile ministry after the Prime Minister...
Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Vishwanath Patil is an Indian politician and current state Punjab governor and the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. Previously he had been the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha and served the Manmohan Singh cabinet as the Union Minister of Home Affairs...
claimed that "whoever is behind the incident is against peace and wants to spoil our growing relationship with other countries". Prime Minister
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
expressed "anguish and grief" at the loss of life, and vowed that the culprits would be caught. India's foreign ministry also promised to issue visas for Pakistani relatives of those killed or injured in the blasts. Indian journalist Siddharth Varadarajan
Siddharth Varadarajan
Siddharth Varadarajan is the Editor of The Hindu, one of India's leading English language newspapers. He has reported on the NATO war against Yugoslavia, the destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and the crisis in Kashmir...
argued that the peace process should stay on track and that any wavering would be tantamount to surrendering to terrorism.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
condemned the attacks and petitioned the ruling Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
to ask Pakistan to comply with its 2004 promise to crack down on cross-border terrorism. The party also argued for a harsher anti-terror bill to take a "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism in India
Terrorism in India
Terrorism in India is primarily attributable to religious communities and Naxalite radical movements.The regions with long term terrorist activities today are Jammu and Kashmir, Mumbai, Central India and the Seven Sister States...
.
Pakistan
The government of PakistanGovernment of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
reacted in the same vein, through its Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri is a Pakistani politician and diplomat. He was the Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 2002 to 2007.- Family background :Khurshid M. Kasuri belongs to one of the old political families of Pakistan...
, proclaiming that this was an act of terrorism that should be investigated by Indian authorities. Kasuri said that the terrorist attack would not halt his trip to India, as he "will be leaving tomorrow for Delhi to further the peace process." He went on to say that "we should hasten the peace process." In response to the terrorist attack, President
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
stated "such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desired objective of sustainable peace between the two countries." Musharraf also said that there must be a full Indian investigation of the attack. In regards to the upcoming peace talks, he stated "we will not allow elements which want to sabotage the ongoing peace process to succeed in their nefarious designs."
Elsewhere
In the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
minister Kim Howells
Kim Howells
Kim Scott Howells is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Pontypridd from 1989 to 2010, and held a number of ministerial positions within the Government.-Biography:...
condemned what he termed "utterly shameful" attacks, offered his "condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured", and offered "the Governments of India and Pakistan whatever assistance they require, to bring to justice the perpetrators of this brutal attack." Leaders in the British Pakistani
British Asian
British Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
community called the terrorist attack a "despicable act" and urged for a speedy investigation into the tragedy so that those responsible could be arrested and jailed.
The Bush administration condemned those responsible for the bomb explosions aboard the Samjhauta Express. On behalf of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government, White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
spokesman
Spokesman
A spokesperson or spokesman or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and...
David Almacy stated:
We express our deepest sorrow for this tragedy and extend condolences to the families of the victims. We appreciate the leadership of Indian Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh and Pakistani President (Pervez) Musharraf, and condemn those who seek to undermine the progress in relations between the two countries.
Tension
On 23 February, a Pakistani Air Force C-130 plane landed, upon being granted approval, in New Delhi to evacuate Pakistanis injured in the train bombings. Of the ten people to be evacuated, three were missing, all from the same family. Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson, Tasneem Aslam, claimed that the father, Rana Shaukat Ali, was harassed by Indian intelligence agency personnel at the Safdarjung Hospital. Aslam also said that Pakistan High Commission officials were denied entrance into the hospital. An Indian External Affairs MinistryMinistry of External Affairs (India)
The Ministry of External Affairs is the foreign ministry of India. It is the Indian government agency responsible for the foreign relations of India. The Minister of External Affairs holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers. The current minister is S M Krishna...
spokesperson, Navtej Sarna
Navtej Sarna
Navtej Sarna is an Indian author-columnist, and diplomat, who is the present Indian Ambassador to Israel.He was born in Jalandhar, India to noted writer in Punjabi, Mohinder Singh Sarna, and passed out of the 1980 Class of Indian Foreign Service...
, denied these allegations and stated that the patients would be taken to the airport. Sarna told the press that Ali's family was not missing, and that hospital doctors had decided not to allow Pakistani officials access into the hospital. He also stated that the C-130 plane had developed a problem and could not take off. Later, Aslam told press correspondents that the "[C-130] aircraft was still at the airport" and that Mr. Ali chosen to travel back to Pakistan via a land route. Despite the tensions between the two countries' External Affairs ministries, the C-130 aircraft took off from New Delhi at around 21:00 local time. After the incident, Ali criticized the media, who asked him for "stories for their publications at a time when I am not in my senses because of the death of my five children." He also stated that Indian officials showed him sketches of suspects, but he could not identify them.
Investigation
The day after the bombings, Indian police stated that the suitcase bomb attack was the work of at least four or five people with a possible militant connection. The police also released sketches of two suspects who the police Inspector GeneralInspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
said had left the train just fifteen minutes before the explosions. The police say that one of the men was around 35 or 36 years old, "plumpish" and dark, with a moustache, and the second was around 26 or 27, wearing a scarf
Scarf
A scarf is a piece of fabric worn around the neck, or near the head or around the waist for warmth, cleanliness, fashion or for religious reasons. They can come in a variety of different colours.-History:...
wrapped around his head. The police also stated that both men were speaking Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. Another man, a Pakistani national who was drunk at the time, was being questioned because he said he threw one of the bomb-containing suitcases off the train. A senior Haryana state railway police official said that the man's "account has been inconsistent and we have no definite conclusions yet." Later, the Inspector General said "the suitcase was thrown on the track" and that the Pakistani national "was there and said he had thrown it."
In early March, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
police arrested two people from the city of Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
who allegedly sold the suitcases used in the bombings. No charges were pressed on the individuals. A probe conducted by the commissioner of Railway Safety officially determined that the explosions and fire on the Samjhauta Express had been caused by bombs located in the upper compartments in coaches GS 03431 and GS 14857. The probe also showed that the train slowed down to a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12.4 mph) just before it was going to pass the Diwana train station. The results strengthened the belief that the suspects got off the train before the explosions. On 31 March, a 25-year-old man was interrogated after being arrested in Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
after jumping off a moving train under suspicious circumstances.
Later developments
No major developments took place in the investigation since late March 2007. Meanwhile, the Indian and Pakistan governments agreed to a bilateral pact to extend passenger train and freight services between the two countries until 2010. In late April, the Indian and Pakistan governments initiated steps for safety and security measures for the Samjhauta Express. The two countries started sharing information on passengers travelling on the trains. The train is now under a reservation system, and as one Railway Ministry source said, "[w]ith no unreserved coaches, we now have complete passenger details from their ticket reservation data a few hours prior to their boarding, and departure of the train." Also in late April, three new coaches equipped with India's most advanced fire fighting systems were added to the Samjhauta Express. Indian Railway Ministry sources commented that the system acts with brake pressure, and this glass-encased system could throw water up to 15 metres (49.2 ft). Indian and Pakistani members of the Anti-Terror Mechanism (ATM) group met on 22 October 2007 to update each other regarding the status of the investigation.In November 2008, it was reported that Indian officials also suspected the attacks were linked to Prasad Shrikant Purohit
Prasad Shrikant Purohit
Lt. Col. Shrikant Prasad Purohit is an Indian Army officer who is accused of charges of terrorism, as the alleged chief architect of the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings. The attack took place on the Samjhauta Express, a train that connects Lahore, Pakistan with Delhi, the capital of India...
, an Indian army officer and member of Hindu nationalist group Abhinav Bharat
Abhinav Bharat
Abhinav Bharat can refer to two organizations one of which is an Hindu nationalist organisation based mainly in Maharashtra in India. The Hindu nationalist organization gained prominence when its members were arrested for allegedly perpetrating the Malegoan bombing...
. Investigators concluded that the suitcases used to make the suitcase bombs originated from Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
in India, based on their stitching. Indian officials said they were prepared to share their findings with Pakistan.
Initial reports suggested that the prime suspects in the bombing were the Islamic groups Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
and Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistani-based, militant Islamic group established by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000...
, both of whom have been blamed for many high-profile bombings in the past. On July 1, 2009, the United States Treasury and UNSC placed sanctions on Lashkar-e-Toiba, and named Arif Qasmani as having played a role in the bombing but later it was proved differently and it was proved that the Hindu terrorist group Abhinav Bharat
Abhinav Bharat
Abhinav Bharat can refer to two organizations one of which is an Hindu nationalist organisation based mainly in Maharashtra in India. The Hindu nationalist organization gained prominence when its members were arrested for allegedly perpetrating the Malegoan bombing...
was the perpetrator of the attacks. In January 2010, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik
Rehman Malik
27 April 2009 He has been the interior adviser since 27 March 2008.Senator A. Rehman Malik is a Pakistani politician, member of the Senate of Pakistan, and the current Interior Minister of Pakistan under the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani administration. His Second name is Shetan Malik and he...
accused India of not pursuing the case seriously, and of refusing to divulge details about the role of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit. Malik alleged that Purohit had hired Pakistani extremists to carry out the bombing. In October 2010, an 806-page chargesheet prepared by the Rajasthan anti-terrorist squad revealed that the Samjhauta Express had been discussed as a potential target for an attack at a meeting of Hindutva bomb makers in February 2006; the group subsequently travelled to Indore.
On December 30, 2010, National Investigation Agency
National Investigation Agency
National Investigation Agency is a federal agency approved by the Indian Government to combat terror in India. The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states. The National Investigation Agency Bill 2008 to create the agency was...
claimed that they have solid evidence that Swami Aseemanand
Swami Aseemanand
Swami Aseemanand is a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist from India who is accused of planning terror attacks on Ajmer Sharif, Mecca Masjid, 2006 Malegaon blasts and 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings. The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Aseemanand on November 19, 2010 for his...
was the mastermind behind the blasts. He had roped in Sandeep Dange, an engineering graduate, and Ramji Kalsangra, an electrician, to build the improvised explosive devices used in the blasts. On January 8, 2011, Aseemanand confessed that Saffron terror
Saffron Terror
Saffron terror is a controversial phrase used to describe acts of Right-wing terrorism in India, allegedly inspired by Hindu nationalism. The phrase "saffron terror" is a neologism which entered public debate in India following the 29 September 2008 western India bombings.The Home Minister of...
outfits were behind the bombing of Samjhauta express, a statement later alleged to be obtained under duress. Later RSS sent a legal notice to CBI accusing it for deliberately leaking Swami Aseemanand's confession in media. RSS spokesman Ram Madavh called the investigation maligning of organizations and individuals.
However, in late March 2011, Aseemanand came out and stated: "I have been pressurised mentally and physically by the investigating agencies to confess that I was behind these blasts."
Aseemanand was indicted on June 20th 2011 for planning the blast.. NIA also decided to top chargesheet RSS leader Indresh Kumar in its supplementary charge sheet of the case. His role was earlier cropped up during Ajmer Dargah blast case and was also named by Rajasthan Anti Terrorist Squad chargesheet.
See also
- 2002 Gujarat violence2002 Gujarat violenceThe 2002 Gujarat violence describes the Godhra train burning and resulting communal riots between Hindus and Muslims. On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked by a large Muslim mob in a conspiracy. But some authentic sources deny the claim...
- Babri MosqueBabri MosqueThe Babri Mosque , was a mosque in Ayodhya, a city in the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh, on Ramkot Hill . It was destroyed in 1992 when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people, despite a commitment to the Indian Supreme Court by the rally organisers that the mosque...
- Hindu extremism
- 2008 attacks on North Indians in Maharashtra2008 attacks on North Indians in MaharashtraThe 2008 attacks on Uttar Pradeshi and Bihari migrants in Maharashtra began on 3 February 2008 after violent clashes between workers of two political parties—Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Samajwadi Party —at Dadar in Mumbai, capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra...
- 2008 Malegoan & Modasa bombing29 September 2008 western India bombingsIn the 29 September 2008 Western India bombings, three bombs exploded in the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra of India killing 8 persons and injuring 80...
- Saffron TerrorSaffron TerrorSaffron terror is a controversial phrase used to describe acts of Right-wing terrorism in India, allegedly inspired by Hindu nationalism. The phrase "saffron terror" is a neologism which entered public debate in India following the 29 September 2008 western India bombings.The Home Minister of...
- Abhinav BharatAbhinav BharatAbhinav Bharat can refer to two organizations one of which is an Hindu nationalist organisation based mainly in Maharashtra in India. The Hindu nationalist organization gained prominence when its members were arrested for allegedly perpetrating the Malegoan bombing...
External links
- Wikinews:Bombing on train from India to Pakistan kills at least 68