Samjhauta case: Is NIA's latest catch a big fish?

The National Investigation Agency appears to be making progress in the Samjhauta Express blasts case. The arrest of Indore-based Kamal Chouhan, who is alleged to be one of the persons who planted the bomb in the train in February, 2007, that killed 68 people, means that the agency is getting closer to closure of the case.

Although speculation is rife that Chouhan's arrest is being timed with the ongoing Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in a bid to appease the minority community, NIA sources say that they were on the look out for this man since the past six months.

"The investigation that we conducted revealed that Chouhan was in the same group of Sadhvi Pragya Singh and Suni Joshi, and worked as a team with the other two accused, Ramji Kalasanghra and Sandep Dange," NIA source added.

Chouhan was first questioned in connection with the mysterious death of former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh member Sunil Joshi, who was also allegedly involved in the plotting of Samjhauta Express blasts.

After that NIA summoned him once again for interrogation. However, this time Chouhan decided to give the agency a slip.

The NIA has been in his pursuit since the past several months now and finally managed to nab him near Indore. The agency had also announced a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh to anyone providing information on the man.

Since the past couple of days the NIA stepped up its efforts to close the Samjhauta Express case. They have already chargesheeted Swami Aseemanand, Sadhvi Pragya Singh among those alive and available. Among the absconders, the names of Kalasanghra and Dange figure most prominently, apart from slain Sunil Joshi.

The questioning of Chouhan has revealed that he is a member of the RSS, and a resident of Moorkheda village near Indore.

Chouhan is said to be a co-conspirator in the case and suspected to be one of the persons who planted the briefcase loaded with explosives and pipe bombs used in the blast.

The NIA says that his involvement in the case was tracked with the help of the signals from a mobile tower on the day of the blasts.

In fact, he is said to have carried the explosive laden-briefcase with three others. He was part of the cell that planted the bomb and also hatched the conspiracy, according to the NIA sources.

The agency would also question Chouhan for his alleged role in the Sunil Joshi murder case, and also the murder of another suspect in the Ajmer blast case Ramprasad Kalota.

Sources in the NIA believe Joshi and Kalota were murdered to ensure the end of investigations into incidents involving 'Hindu terror'.

Chouhan alongwith three others are said to have played a vital role in the murders, according to the NIA.

On the Samjhauta case, the NIA says that the pipe bombs were manufactured in a factory at Pithampur owned by one Vinay Pandey and stored by Chouhan at Sunil Joshi's cowshed near Depalpur and Moorkheda village.

Kalota had collected and also distributed the bombs which were stored in the cowshed, NIA sources said.

Further, the NIA says that Chouhan had taken part in the conspiracy meetings held in Gujarat and Nagpur.

A couple of days back the NIA had put out advertisements seeking information on three very crucial players in the Samjhauta case. They included Kalasanghra, Dange and also Suresh Nair.

While the arrest of Kamal Chouhan may be a step forward in nabbing the absconders and also cracking the Joshi murder case, it is yet to be seen how big a catch is this man in the first place.

The arrest was made based on proper information, the NIA sources say. The doubts, however, grew when Chouhan refused to turn up for questioning and decided to abscond.

"His role was known since day one. We believe that he is one of the persons who planted the bomb in the train along with Dange and Kalasanghra and this is the line of interrogation at the moment," sources in NIA add.

Apart from this what is more important for the NIA is to track the other two major players -- Kalasanghra and Dange -- who are considered to have a lot of information on them.

It is said that the little-known Chouhan was part of the same module that all the above mentioned names worked for. He could have been just a foot soldier and further investigations would reveal more information on his exact role.

However, a surprising fact about Chouhan is that the man never figured in the investigation of Sadhvi Pragya Singh. Although she too has been chargesheeted in the same cases, it is quite surprising that his name never cropped up.

Sources say that certain things are deliberately not declared as it tends to tip off the accused. "Even the Sadhvi investigation does not have the name of this man, further investigations can be conducted, and there is always this option of filing an additional chargesheet in the case," another source adds.

Chouhan is a relatively new name in this Samjhauta case. Sources in the Madhya Pradesh police, however, point out that his name could have cropped up during the interrogation of the 30 odd men that took place in Indore a couple of months back.

NIA sources, however, say that there are more persons who were involved in the Samjhauta operation. However the focus now is on Chouhan and also chalking out a strategy to pick up the absconders who could well be hiding in Nepal, the NIA also points out.

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