Samjhauta blast case: NIA court posts matter for March 14

A special NIA court Monday put off the pronouncement of verdict in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case and posted the matter for March 14 after a Pakistani woman filed a petition claiming she had some evidence relevant to the case.

The petition was filed by an advocate on behalf of Rahila L Vakeel, National Investigation Agency (NIA) counsel Rajan Malhotra said.

Special NIA court judge Jagdeep Singh posted the matter for March 14 after the application was filed.

The final arguments in this case were concluded on March 6 and the verdict was reserved for March 11.

Sixty-eight people, mostly Pakistan national, were charred to death in the blasts in two coaches of the Samjhauta Express near Panipat on February 18, 2007.

The Samjhauta Express, also called Attari Express, is a bi-weekly train that runs on Wednesdays and Sundays - between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan.

The NIA in its chargesheet had named eight persons as accused.

Among them are: Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand,Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary, who appeared before the court. While Sunil Joshi, the alleged mastermind of the attack, was killed in December 2007.

Three other accused -- Ramchandra Kalsangra, Sandeep Dange and Amit -- are still at large and have been declared proclaimed offenders.