LeT bomb expert Tunda discharged in two cases

New Delhi, Apr 23 (PTI) Top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda was on Thursday discharged by a Delhi court in connection with two separate blast cases lodged in 1997 in which one person was killed and several others were injured.

73-year-old Tunda, one of the 20 terrorists India had asked Pakistan to hand over after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, was discharged by the court which said there was no prima facie evidence against him to proceed.

Last month, Tunda was discharged by another court in a case registered under the stringent provisions of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

However, he will have to remain in jail as there is one more case pending against him in Delhi.

The two cases in which Tunda was today discharged by Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh pertains to a blast in Karol Bagh on October 28, 1997 and two blasts in Sadar Bazaar on October 1, 1997.

In the Karol Bagh blast case, one person was killed while several others were injured and a bomb was also recovered by the police. In the Sadar Bazar blasts, two bombs exploded in which several persons were injured.

Tunda was listed in police's charge sheet in these two cases based on the disclosure statements of other accused who were arrested in 1998 for their alleged involvement in the blasts.

During the arguments on framing of charges in the case, advocate M S Khan, who appeared for Tunda, had said that no case was made out on the basis of disclosure statements of co-accused on which the police was relying.

Khan had also argued that the other co-accused were finally acquitted by the courts earlier and charges cannot be framed on the basis of their disclosure statements.

Tunda was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on August 16, 2013 from the Indo-Nepal border.

PTI