Samjhauta man fancied himself as Bhagat Singh

Before he was arrested in connection with the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, Kamal Chauhan fancied himself as a modern-day Bhagat Singh. He kept a beard, turned the tips of his moustache upwards, rode a Bullet and acted like a local tough man. Rajesh Ahuja reports.

Before he was arrested in connection with the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, Kamal Chauhan fancied himself as a modern-day Bhagat Singh. He kept a beard, turned the tips of his moustache upwards, rode a Bullet and acted like a local tough man.

“Chauhan is highly motivated and, given a chance, would like to shout from every available rooftop that he planted an IED in the Samjhauta Express. In fact, he takes pride in his work. He is a rabid nationalist,” said an official source who has been briefed on the details emerging from his interrogation.

Chauhan, who is a resident of Murkheda near Dipalpur in Madhya Pradesh, is in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for 10 days. He was arrested on February 12 and is alleged to be one of the people who planted four improvised explosive devices (IED) in the train.

Kamal-Chauhan-being-produced-in-Panchkula-district-court-for-his-alleged-role-in-the-Samjhauta-Express-blast-that-left-68-dead-PTI-photo

“Two teams of two members each were formed for the Samjhauta operation. One team consisted of Chauhan and Lokesh Sharma, who has been an arrested accused in the Samjhauta case. They had brought two suitcases containing IEDs,” said a source.

Chauhan’s father Radhey Shyam has moved the National Human Rights Commission, demanding an inquiry into the circumstances leading to his son’s arrest. “My son used to attend shakha sessions of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, but he is not involved in any blast,” Radhey Shyam told HT.

But investigators dispute his version. “Chauhan, Lokesh Sharma and around half a dozen other former RSS workers were executioners of a group led by Sunil Joshi, a former RSS pracharak in MP. The group has been found to be involved in all blasts at Muslim religious places and in the Samjhauta Express between 2006 and 2008,” said a source.

Sunil Joshi was murdered in mysterious circumstances in December 2007. According to sources, Chauhan respected Sunil Joshi to the extent that he is even ready to kill those who murdered him.