Samjhauta Express blast: NIA arrests key suspect

To show zero tolerance towards terrorists, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested Rajesh Chaudhary, allegedly the Samjhauta Express train bomb planter, from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.

Chaudhary, who is also known as Samundar, carried a reward of Rs five lakh for his suspected role in planting bomb on Pakistan bound train in 2007.

He was arrested and produced before a court in Ujjain which gave his transit remand to the agency, official sources said adding that he will be produced before a Panchkula court.

Chaudhary is the fourth arrest in the case made by the NIA which started probing the incident since 2010. The probing agency already arrested Kamal Chauhan, Aseemanand and Lokesh Sharma for their alleged involvement in the blast.

The arrest of the suspected key bomb planter came a day after Pakistan Interior Minister Interior Minister Rehman Malik equated train blast and Babri Masjid demolition as cross border terrorism drawing flak from India. Pakistan has failed to take decisive steps against 26/11 master mind Hafiz Saeed. In Pakistan on the pretext that the dossier provided by India just information and not evidence.

The bomb blasts in the Samjhauta Express near Panipat, Haryana on February 18, 2007 and the consequent fire in the coaches had resulted in the loss of 68 lives and injuries to 12 train passengers.