2007 Samjhauta blasts case: Opposition slams govt for decision not to appeal Aseemanand bail

The decision not to oppose the bail granted to Swami Assemanand chargesheeted in 2007 Samjhauta blast case was slammed by opposition parties on Wednesday with NC leader Omar Abdullah asking how this was different from Pakistan justifying bail for Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

"How is the Indian justification of bail for #Aseemanand any different from the Pakistani justification of bail for #Lakhvi?," Omar, the leader of National Conference and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, wrote on micro blogging site Twitter.

The Parliament was informed by the Government yesterday that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has decided not to oppose the conditional bail granted to Assemanand as it did not find any grounds for it.

Lakhvi, a LeT terrorist and the Mumbai attack mastermind, was granted bail by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan early this year, in a decision that was slammed by India. The NIA decision was also slammed by the CPI-M.

"He(Aseemanand) is accused in the Samjhauta train Blast case. It was a major terrorist attack in our country. After the coming of this(NDA) government, the various terrorist cases in which Hindutva extremists are involved, attempts are being made to end all cases like that. And the attempt to not appeal against the bail is also an indication to that," CPI-M leader Prakash Karat said.