Chronology of Samjhauta Express blast case

A special court has acquitted Swami Aseemanand and three others in the Samjhauta train blast case that left 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, dead in 2007.

The blast in the India-Pakistan train took place near Panipat in Haryana on February 18, 2007, when it was on its way to Attari in Amritsar, the last station on the Indian side. AFP Photo

PANCHKULA: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here on Wednesday acquitted all four accused, including Hindu leader Swami Aseemanand, in the February 2007 Samjhauta Express train blast which killed 68 people, mostly Pakistanis. The NIA court had in January 2014 framed charges against Aseemanand and three others -- Kamal Chauhan, Rajinder Chaudhary and Lokesh Sharma. All of them were present in the court on Wednesday. They had been charged with criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder, sedition and more. The blast on February 18, 2007 in the train, which runs between Delhi and Lahore, at Haryana's Panipat left 43 Pakistanis, 10 Indians and 15 unidentified people dead. A dozen people, including 10 Pakistanis, were also injured. The blasts took place in two coaches of the train (Delhi-Attari) near a railway station in Diwana village, 160 km from here Here's the chronology of 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case: February 18, 2007: A blast in Samjhauta Express near Diwana in Haryana's Panipat kills 68 people, mostly Pakistani nationals. February 20, 2007: Haryana Police constitute special investigation team to probe the case. July 29, 2010: National Investigation Agency (NIA) takes over the probe from Haryana Police June 20, 2011: NIA files chargesheet in Panchkula court July 2014: Aseemanand gets bail March 6, 2019: Final arguments in Samjhauta blast case conclude, court reserves verdict March 11, 2019: A Pakistani woman Rahila Wakeel, daughter of blast victim Muhammad Wakeel moves court for examination of eyewitnesses from her country March 18, 2019: Arguments concludes on the Pakistani woman's plea March 20, 2019: Anti-terror court first dismisses her petition, acquits four accused -- Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary