The NIA Special Court on Wednesday acquitted all four accused in the Samjhauta Blast case.
“The NIA Special Court has concluded that the investigating agency has failed to prove the conspiracy charge and ruled that accused deserve a benefit of doubt,” NIA Counsel RK Handa said.
Apart from former RSS activist Swani Aseemanand, the others acquitted in case are Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary. Aseemanand, who was charged in three terror attack cases a decade ago, was accused of providing logistic support to the persons who carried out the blasts.
At least 68 people were killed in the 2007 Samjhauta Express IED blasts. A total of 43 Pakistan citizens were killed in the terrorist attack.
Earlier in the day, the special court dismissed a Pakistani woman's plea to examine blast eyewitnesses from her country, terming the prayer as "devoid of any merit."
Pakistani woman Rahila Wakeel, the daughter of a blast victim, Muhammad Wakeel of Dhingrawali village in Hafizabad district of Pakistan had moved the court on March 11 seeking examination of the blast eyewitnesses from her country.
She had contended that her co-nationals either did not receive proper summonses from the court or were denied visas by authorities to appear before it.
"The court dismissed the Pakistani woman's application. It ruled the plea was devoid of any merit," said NIA counsel Rajan Malhotra.
