CPI-M: For PM Narendra Modi regime, there are no Hindu extremists

Sitaram Yechury

New Delhi: The acquittal of Hindu activist Aseemanand in the Samjhauta train blast case proves that the Modi government believes that terrorism can be perpetrated only by Muslim extremists, not by Hindu extremists, the CPI-M has said.

"The acquittal of Aseemanand (real name Naba Kumar Sarkar) and three others in the Samjhauta train blast case is a shameful reminder that the criminal justice system in India is incapable of bringing terrorists of the extremist Hindutva variety to justice for their crimes," said an editorial in the CPI-M journal "People's Democracy".

Between 2006 and 2008, there were six terrorist incidents perpetrated by a network of extreme Hindutva groups. Aseemanand, Pragya Thakur and Lt. Colonel Shrikant Purohit were the prominent conspirators amongst them, the editorial said.

Aseemanand, an RSS-VHP activist who was earlier acquitted in the Mecca Masjid blast and the Ajmer Dargah blast cases, was considered the main organizer of the terrorist attacks which targeted Muslim places of worship, it said.

Both these cases were investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

"Under the Modi regime, the NIA has the dubious record of undermining all the terrorist cases related to the Hindutva extremist groups," the editorial said.

In the Mecca Masjid blast in which nine people were killed in 2017, all the accused including Aseemanand were acquitted.

In the Ajmer Dargah blast case, prosecuted by the NIA, Aseemanand and six others were acquitted.

With the Samjhauta train blast verdict, the message has gone that no one is responsible for this terrorist event, when in fact there was sufficient evidence linking the blast to persons linked to the outfits affiliated to the RSS, the CPI-M said.

The Samjhauta train blast killed 68 people, including 43 Pakistani nationals.

"What the Samjhauta, Malegaon, Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Sherif blast cases have revealed is that the Modi government will not recognize or accept that there were terrorist attacks planned and executed by extremist Hindu elements," the editorial said.

"For the Modi government, terrorism can only be perpetrated by Muslim extremists and not by Hindu extremists. The criminal justice system is being subverted to convey this chilling message."

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