– Raheem Khan
Ajmer, Mar 1: Ajmer’s TADA court has acquitted accused Abdul Karim Tunda in the 1993 serial bomb blast case. The media and CBI had been calling Tunda the mastermind all through these years. Other accused, Irfan and Hameeduddin have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Tunda is currently lodged in Ajmer jail.
Tunda, 80, the alleged mastermind of serial bomb blasts in trains of Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Surat and Mumbai in 1993, allegedly to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid, was acquitted by the TADA court here Thursday. The CBI could not present any evidence against Tunda in the last 10 years. After release of the accused in Jaipur blast case, this is the second big blow to the investigating agencies.
Surprisingly, Tunda was made the main accused in a serious case of terrorist activities, but the supplementary chargesheet against him was not presented in court. The research officer also didn’t appear in court. CBI had claimed in the chargesheet to have seized 23 passports from Tunda. But no evidence of this was presented in court. On Thursday, special court judge for TADA cases Mahavir Prasad acquitted Tunda in the absence of direct evidence, while two other accused in the case, Irfan (70) and Hameeduddin (44), were sentenced to life imprisonment. The charge against both of them of placing bombs in trains has been proved.
Tunda has so far been acquitted by the court in 30 out of 33 cases. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment only in one case of Sonipat, in which an appeal has been filed in the Rohtak High Court. Now only two cases of murderous attack and Explosives Act are pending against him in Ghaziabad court.
Tunda’s lawyer Shafqat Sultani said CBI left many flaws in the investigation. The investigating agency named Tunda as the main accused but could never prove it in court.
He said the prosecution couldn’t present sufficient evidence to prove the allegations. CBI lawyer Bhavani Singh said that he will appeal to the Supreme Court.
In 1994, this case came up in Ajmer TADA Court. In 2004, TADA court sentenced 16 to life imprisonment. Out of which 4 were acquitted by the Supreme Court. Five accused including Tunda were absconding. Tunda was arrested from Nepal border in 2014. Irfan was caught in 2016 and Hameeduddin in 2010. Two accused are still absconding.
