The National Investigation Agency says that with the arrest of Rajendra Chowdhary the probe in the Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid and Ajmer blasts is almost complete. Vicky Nanjappa reports
The National Investigation Agency, which arrested Rajendra Chowdhary, a key suspect in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, which killed 68 people -- mostly Pakistanis, will also probe his role in the Mecca Masjid blast case.
An officer in the NIA told
rediff.com, "He (Chowdhary) will be taken to Hyderabad and for this purpose a prisoner's transit warrant is being readied. We will need to interrogate him in connection with the Samjautha case first. His role in the Ajmer blast too will be studied, but top on our priority for now are the Samjautha and Mecca Masjid cases."
According to the NIA, the module, which carried out the Ajmer, Samjautha and Mecca Masjid blasts, is the same. Hence the arrest of Chowdhary becomes crucial to all the three cases.
The terror probe in all the three attacks is almost complete with the arrest of Chowdhary, the NIA said. However, we are yet to nab Ramji Kalasanghra and Sandeep Dange, who are very crucial to the case as well. The duo is suspected to be hiding in Nepal, investigators pointed out.
The NIA had received a lot of information in the Mecca Masjid case following the confessions by Swami Aseemanand. But after he withdrew the statements the trial hit a roadblock.
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investigators, however, have picked up various leads from his confession and are carrying forward the probe. It is Aseemanand's statements that provided clarity to the Mecca Masjid case.