Rakesh Asthana Claims Pakistan Calls Linked To Godhra Train Burning

Former CBI official Rakesh Asthana claims investigations into the 2002 Godhra train burning linked the conspiracy to calls from Pakistan and the presence of Hizbul Mujahideen members at a guesthouse prior to the tragic incident.

Rakesh Asthana Claims Pakistan Calls Linked To Godhra Train Burning

Rakesh Asthana, former Special Director of the CBI, who headed the Gujarat Police SIT probing the 2002 Sabarmati train fire, said several calls to the Aman Guest House in Godhra had originated from Pakistan and that members of the terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen had reportedly stayed there a few days before the incident.

“During our investigation, we examined Abdul Razak ‘Kurkur’, the owner of the Aman Guest House. We thoroughly investigated the guesthouse registers and examined the telephone records. Several calls to the guesthouse had originated from Pakistan,” Asthana said.

He further said that members of Hizbul Mujahideen had reportedly visited and stayed at the guesthouse days before the incident, and their names were also recorded in its registers. "Additionally, a few days before the incident, members of the terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen had reportedly visited and stayed at the guesthouse. Their names were also recorded," he said.

Asthana said the investigation also involved consultations with senior officials of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in Godhra. “In Godhra, at that time, we had interacted with senior officials of R&AW and the Intelligence Bureau. We were unable to crack the larger plan. However, it was a major conspiracy to destabilise the country,” he said.

Describing the alleged preparations for the incident, Asthana said the guesthouse was located a short distance from the railway station platform and that a meeting had taken place there on the night before the incident. He said the meeting was where the group decided to procure petrol from a nearby pump and fill it into cans. The investigation team also seized records of the petrol dispensed from the pump, he added.

“It was decided there that they would bring the petrol. There is a petrol pump nearby. From there, petrol was filled into cans. We seized the records of the petrol dispensed from there. It was not done in cars; it was done in cans,” he said.

On February 27, 2002, the Sabarmati Express, carrying Hindu karsevaks, was set on fire by a mob in Godhra, resulting in the deaths of 59 people, including women and children. The incident was followed by communal riots across Gujarat, in which hundreds of people were killed. In 2011, a special court convicted 31 people in connection with the Godhra train burning incident. In October 2017, the Gujarat High Court commuted the death sentences of 11 convicts to life imprisonment while upholding the life sentences of 20 others. The convicts’ appeals have been pending before the Supreme Court since 2018. The Supreme Court resumed final hearings in the matter in May 2025.