Hindutva leader who opposed Christians is Samjhauta blast accused

A Hindutva leader who fiercely engaged in reconverting tribals from Christianity to Hinduism in the remote Dangs area of Gujarat is one of the main accused in the 2007 Samjhauta train blasts.

Swami Aseemanand was in November arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his role in the explosions that killed 68 people.

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) claims to have now found incriminating evidence against Aseemanand who has revealed details of how saffron activists were planning terror strikes across the country.

Aseemanand reportedly confessed about his involvement in the Samjhauta train blast before a magistrate. "I told everyone that bomb must be responded with a bomb," Aseemanand was quoted saying

The 58-year-old RSS leader, in the past, was involved in several anti-Christian activities, including the riots in December 1998.

The police have been looking for Aseemanand since the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in October 2009 in connection with the Malegaon blasts.

According to sources, Swami Aseemanand runs the Shabaridham Ashram in the Dangs district in Gujarat where he focuses on reconversion of tribals to Hinduism. Many of his followers were apparently taken aback when investigators revealed his role in terror activities.

Aseemanand's name also figures in 2007's Mecca Masjid and Ajmer blasts.

Last year, Home Minister P Chidambaram said a new phenomenon of "saffron terrorism" involved in many bomb blasts has been uncovered. The Home Minister said one of the principal concerns of the government is to maintain communal peace and harmony.