Mehbooba put question mark on Aseemanand acquittal; cites double standard

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday questioned the grounds on which the accused in Samjhauta blast case were acquitted by a court on Wednesday. "Despite damning evidence, the accused including a former RSS member have been acquitted. God forbid, had they been Kashmiris / Muslims, they would be pronounced guilty & imprisoned without even a fair trial. Why such double standards and leniency towards saffron terror?" the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister asked.

Mufti's reaction came after a special court in Haryana acquitted Swami Aseemanand and three others in the Samjhauta train blast case that left 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, dead in 2007. The blast in the India-Pakistan train took place near Panipat in Haryana on February 18, 2007, when it was on its way to Attari in Amritsar, the last station on the Indian side.

(With inputs from agencies.)