With the arrest of one more person by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Satna district on Monday, the number of persons arrested from Madhya Pradesh in connection with the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast has gone up to two within three days.
While the National Investigation Agency officers were not available for comment, Madhya Pradesh police headquarters sources confirmed that one person has been rounded up by an NIA team from Satna district in eastern Madhya Pradesh on Monday.
The Satna district SP also verified this but refused to divulge anything further. On Saturday, NIA sleuths had arrested Dashrath Chaudhary — the main accused in the Samjhauta Express blast case — from Nagda in Ujjain district in Madhya Pradesh.
Reacting to the latest arrests, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said, “The very fact that the NIA could hunt down a culprit with `5 lakhs reward on his head is a matter of shame for the state police. The SHO of the police station, the concerned SDOP and the SP of the area where the culprit was living should be held accountable for this lapse,” the Congress leader said adding that it is now clear that the state BJP government is sheltering such dreaded terrorists accused of bomb blasts.
Mr Singh went on to allege that two other persons — Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalasangra, alias Ramji — both carrying rewards on their heads and wanted in the Samjhauta Express blast case, must have taken shelter in Madhya Pradesh with full connivance of the state police.
“I believe another person also has been arrested from Satna on Monday,” he said adding that it will not be surprising if he is one of the two fugitives wanted in the Samjhauta Express blast case.