Indian court to hear 2007 Samjhota Express blast case today

An Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) court is expected to announce the verdict on the 2007 Samjhota Express blast case today (Thursday).

The court on Monday had reserved its order on the case and adjourned the hearing following the plea of a Pakistani woman to have her statement recorded.

Rahila Vakeel, a resident of Hafizabad and the daughter of Muhammad Vakeel who had gone missing during the incident, in her petition claimed that she had evidence relevant to the case, the Times of India (TOI) reported. However, Rahila said that she has not yet received a visa nor a call or a summon.

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

In February 2007, alleged Hindu extremists had bombed the Samjhota Express killing 68 people, 42 of whom were Pakistanis. The train was near Panipat and was heading towards Lahore from New Delhi when it was attacked.

The NIA in its charge sheet had named eight people as accused of which four appeared for the last hearing, the TOI reported. Sunil Joshi, the alleged mastermind of the attack, was killed in December 2007.