A TADA court in Ajmer on Thursday acquitted Abdul Karim ‘Tunda’ (80) in the 1993 serial blasts case. Two other accused, Irfan (70) and Hameeduddin (44), have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Two people were killed and several others injured in the serial blasts that took place in trains in Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Surat and Mumbai on December 6, 1993.
Tunda was arrested in 2013 from Banbasa of Uttarakhand near the India-Nepal border while Irfan and Hameeduddin were arrested in 1994.
Tunda’s lawyer, Shafqar Sultani, while talking to The Indian Express said, “In total there were 32 cases on Tunda in many parts of the country out of which he was acquitted from 28 cases. There are three more cases pending — one is in Patiala for which Tunda has been given life-imprisonment. However, the Ajmer case was the only one under TADA and remaining pending cases are under IPC. From Ajmer, he will be taken to Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh where further proceedings will take place.”
Sultani said Tunda was on Thursday acquitted from IPC Section 302 and 307, different sections of TADA, Arms act, Public Property Damage act, and Railway Property damage act.
Sultani further said that the CBI had left many flaws in its investigation.
“CBI did not even present the supplementary charge sheet to prove the crime against Tunda. Arrest memo was not exhibited in the court. Neither was there any interrogation note or investigation note or any confessional statement. CBI was not able to present any strong evidence against Tunda,” he said.
Sultani said that when judgment was pronounced, Tunda thanked the judge saying, “May Allah bless you and give you a prosperous life.”
Abdul Rashid, lawyer of Irfan and Hameeduddin, said they will an appeal in the Supreme Court against the judgment.
“Our next step will be to appeal in the Supreme Court. Hameeduddin has been in prison for 14 years and Irfan for around 16 to 17 years. Irfan is also 70% paralysed. Both were arrested in 1994 but Irfan went into hiding in 2000 while he was out on parole. He was arrested again in 2013. There are no other cases pending against both so they will remain in Ajmer jail,” said Rashid.
Advocate Bhavani Singh, appearing on behalf of CBI, said that they appeal in the SC against the acquittal of Abdul Karim Tunda.