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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is all set to challenge before the Supreme Court the acquittal of Abdul Karim Tunda, the main accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case. CBI officials are studying the judgment and an appeal would soon be filed in the Supreme Court, officials were quoted by PTI as saying.
ALSO READ: LeT’s Tunda tells court he wasn’t arrested in India
The central probe agency agency said 12 people have been convicted in the case so far. These 12 include Irfan and Hamir-Ul-Uddin who were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court on Thursday.
Abdul Karim Tunda acquitted
Abdul Karim Tunda, a key accused in the 1993 serial train blasts case, was acquitted on Thursday. His lawyer said the prosecution could not provide enough evidence to prove the charges. Tunda was arrested in 2013 from a hamlet near the India-Nepal border.
The 81-year-old Tunda is a close aide of wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. He was accused of carrying out blasts in five passenger trains in December 1993 to mark the first anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.
ALSO READ: Top lashkar-e-toiba bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda discharged
The blasts were carried out in passenger trains in Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Surat and Mumbai on the intervening night of December 5-6, 1993.
The TADA court had framed charges against Tunda, and Irfan alias Pappu and Hamiduddin on September 30, 2021.
ALSO READ: Tunda tells police he was in constant touch with ISI
After the latest court order, Tunda’s counsel Shafquatullah Sultani said in Ajmer that the court has acquitted Abdul Karim Tunda of all the charges framed against him.
“He is completely innocent. He has been acquitted of every section of every Act by the court. CBI prosecution could not produce any concrete piece of evidence before the court in TADA, IPC, Railway Acts, Arms Act, or Explosive Substances Act,” the counsel added.
He said probe agencies alleged that Tunda helped other accused in making bombs which they planted after being inspired by him. “The defence presented facts before the court and there was no direct evidence against Tunda or confession statement against him,” the lawyer was quoted by PTI as saying.
Meanwhile, Justice Gupta, in his judgment, said that while the prosecution presented evidence indicating Tunda’s role in helping other accused to make the bombs, it failed to establish his direct role in the blasts, the Hindustan Times reported.
Irfan and Hamiduddin were, however, sentenced to life imprisonment for planting the bombs, their counsel Abdul Rashid told reporters.
“Hamiduddin and Irfan have been found guilty. They were convicted for planting bombs and have been sentenced to life imprisonment. They will appeal before the Supreme Court,” Rashid said.
He said that Hamiduddin has been in jail for the last 14 years and Irfan for the last 17 years.
What CBI said
The cases related to the serial blast were handed over to the CBI, which had registered five separate FIRs in the matter.
A CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Friday that the investigation revealed that the various accused persons entered into a criminal conspiracy with the object to over-awe the Government established by law, spreading terror in public at large and creating disharmony among different communities of the country by committing terrorist acts, like bomb explosions in the running prestigious trains in different parts of the country, on the occasion of first anniversary of the demolition of a structure at Ayodhya.
The agency had filed chargesheets against 21 accused, of which 15 were awarded life sentences 20 years ago on February 28, 2004 by a TADA court in Ajmer. The Supreme Court had upheld the sentence of 10 of these convicts.
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Published: 01 Mar 2024, 08:05 PM IST
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