By TCN Staff Writer,
New Delhi: In order to bring about a unified approach to the investigations in the cases of saffron terror, the National Investigative Agency (NIA) might soon take over all the seven cases. The Union Home Ministry is believed to have taken a decision in this regard. At present these cases are being investigated by the CBI and the state governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
Security agencies were increasingly concerned that investigation of saffron terror cases by multiple agencies in different states could be manipulated by the suspects at the trial to dilute the cases against them.
Although the NIA Act authorizes the Center to give the terror cases to the agency without taking the state governments’ permission, the UPA government had asked the state governments and the CBI about their views on this issue. With the exception of the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh which didn’t want to handover the murder case of Sunil Joshi, the CBI and governments of Maharashtra and Rajasthan told the centre that they didn’t have any objection in handing over all the cases to NIA. Sunil Joshi was the former RSS man whose name figured in four of the saffron terror cases including blasts at Ajmer Dargah and Malegaon.
But according to media reports, the Centre will try to convince the Madhya Pradesh government to follow the footsteps of the Maharashtra and Rajasthan governments.
Till date, there are seven cases which are being attributed to saffron terrorists including Malegaon blasts (September 2006) and Mecca Masjid blasts (May 2007) — both are being investigated by the CBI. Malegaon blast of September 2008 is being investigated by the Maharashtra ATS while the Rajasthan ATS is looking after the Ajmer Sharif blast of October 2007. At present the NIA is probing Samjhauta Express blasts (February 2007) and the Modasa blast (September 2008). The MP police is investigating the December 2007 murder case of Sunil Joshi in which Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has been made as one of the accused. Sadhvi is already in jail in connection with the Malegaon blast of September 2008.
The development could strengthen the demand of Muslim community for NIA probe in all major terror blasts in the last few years in the country including serial bombings in Delhi, Jaipur and Ahmedabad, particularly taking into account the confession of RSS pracharak and terror mastermind Swami Aseemanand. Hundreds of Muslim youths are languishing in jail in connection with these blasts. More than a dozen youths from Azamgarh alone have been made accused in all three serial bombings of Delhi, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. The community have long raised the question of unfair probe by state police in these blasts, and demanded a judicial probe or investigation by NIA. But the central government has so far turned deaf ear to the demand and thus threw out the suspicion that saffron terrorists might be involved in these blasts also.
[Photo Jammu News Agency]