Thirty years after the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, a TADA (Terrorist & Anti-disruptive Activities Act) court in Ajmer, Rajasthan, acquitted all charges against the main accused, Abdul Karim Tunda on Thursday, due to lack of evidence.
According to Tunda’s lawyer, Advocate Shafiktullah Sultani, the Central agency CBI failed to file chargesheet against Tunda alias Abdul Quddooss, as they could not present any strong evidence.
“Abdul Karim Tunda is innocent. Today the Court gave this judgment. Abdul Karim Tunda has been acquitted in all sections and all acts. CBI prosecution could not produce any concrete piece of evidence before the court in TADA, IPC, Railway Acts, Arms Act, or Explosive Substances Act”, he told the reporters.
The case centered on the serial bomb blasts that was carried out in five trains across India, on the first anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya on Dec 6, 1992.
The bomb blasts that took place in Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Surat and Mumbai on the intervening night of December 5 and 6 in 1993, had killed two people and injured about 22.
On September 30, 2021, the aforementioned special court (TADA) had framed charges against the main accused Tunda, alongside Irfan alias Pappu and Hamiruddin, for allegedly orchestrating the blasts.
Apart from the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, the accused were charged under Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and the Indian Railways Act, as per Advocate Shafqat Sultani.
Moreover, the court, which cited lack of evidence against Tunda, convicted the other two accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
“We had been saying from the beginning that Abdul Karim Tunda is innocent…Irfan and Hamiduddin have been convicted and the quantum of the sentence will be pronounced shortly,” Advocate Sultani added.
The octogenarian Tunda, was brought to court in a wheelchair and was seen thanking god and his lawyers after his acquittal, as he was approached by the media.
