RSS admits links with Samjhauta blast accused Aseemanand

Lucknow, Feb 2 (ANI): Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) spokesperson Ram Madhav on Wednesday accepted that Samjhauta Express train blast accused Swami Aseemanand was a member of the organization before becoming a monk.

He also alleged that the opposition parties were conspiring against RSS by dragging its name in militant activities and tagging the organisation, as a threat to the nation in the name of the religion.

On this score, he noted that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, another accused in the Samjhauta Express train blast was never part of RSS since it is a forum solely for the stags.

"Sadhvi Pragya was never a member of RSS. The RSS has only male members. As far as Aseemanand is concerned, Aseemanand I mean in his previous Avataar (incarnation) before becoming a Swami (monk) in Swami Ramkrishna Mission was with RSS," Madhav told reporters here.

Further throwing light on the WikiLeaks revelations that Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi told US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer last year that 'the growth of radicalised Hindu groups' may be a 'bigger threat' to India than some Islamic terror groups.

"I talked about security concerned in the context when to underplay Jihad, they (Rahul Gandhi) said to Roemer that there is no fear from militancy, but from saffron terrorism. This is like weakening your security concerns," he added.

Ram Madhav further mentioned that the RSS has filed a writ in the court for leaking the confessions of Swami Aseemanand under 164 CrPc (Criminal Procedure Court) and letting these being published by newspapers.

He noted that publication of the confessions recorded under Section-164 of CrPC amounts to contempt of court since it is a confidential matter in the custody of the court.

Ram Madhav opined that the probe by the various agencies such as the ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad) and the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) were rigged to suit the party in power.

The Rajasthan ATS on January 22 Aseemanand in its custody in connection with the 2007 Ajmer Dargah attack case.

Earlier on January 18, Ajmer court had issued a production warrant against Aseemanand.

Aseemanand is an accused in the Ajmer Dargah, blast in which a bomb had exploded just after evening prayers on October 11, 2007, at the famed Sufi shrine, resulting in the deaths of three and injuries to 17 others.

Panchkula court had earlier on January 15 recorded Aseemanand's statement in connection with the Samjhauta case.

The blast in the Indo-Pak train in Panipat district had left 68 people dead in February 2007.

The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Aseemanand on November 19 last year for his alleged involvement in Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad that left nine persons dead.

His name had also come up during the probe in Malegaon blast of 2008 when Maharashtra's ATS recovered the number of the Swami's driver from Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, another Abhinav Bharat member and an accused arrested in Malegaon case. (ANI)