Date:23/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/23/stories/2008052361950300.htm

National

Was Rehman behind Samjhauta Express blasts?

Devesh K. Pandey

Reportedly spotted near Old Delhi railway station on that day

‘He was trained in handling weapons and manufacturing IEDs using timers and detonators’
In the train blasts, suitcase-bombs using a similar configuration were used

NEW DELHI: The Special Cell of the Delhi police is investigating the suspected involvement of alleged Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) militant Abdur Rehman in the Samjhauta Express blasts of February 2007 as he was reportedly spotted near the Old Delhi railway station on that day.

The blasts on the train had taken place around midnight on February 18, 2007, near the Deewana railway station in Haryana. Examination of unexploded suitcase-bombs revealed that they contained plastic bottles filled with inflammable liquid. Clocks, iron-pipes, batteries, bottles and detonators were used in assembling the bombs.

Investigations led the police to the Kothari market of Indore in Madhya Pradesh from where the material used to configure the bombs had apparently been purchased.

Investigations by the Delhi police indicated that Rehman, whose name and whereabouts were revealed by an alleged militant named Shabbir Ahmad arrested last July, could be involved in the train blasts. After his arrest by a team led by Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, the police are interrogating him to find if he had any role to play in the explosions. According to police sources, Rehman has not been very cooperative. However, the police feel they have credible reasons to suspect his role in the train blasts.

During interrogation, Rehman purportedly disclosed that during the three-month “Dhaura-e-Khas” training at a camp run by the Inter-Services Intelligence in the Sindh province of Pakistan in 2002, he was trained in handling weapons and manufacturing improvised explosive devices using timers and detonators. He was also given the training to configure “petrol bombs” and other bombs using watches and clocks as timer device.

In the train blasts, suitcase-bombs using a similar configuration were used. This is the prime reason for suspecting his complicity. The blasts were also suspected to be the handiwork of HuJI, the outfit that Rehman owes allegiance to.