A special court in Rajasthan today acquitted Abdul Karim Tunda, a notorious bomb maker associated with the Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist organisation, in connection with a 1993 train blasts case. The explosions, which occurred on multiple trains on the first anniversary of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, resulted in the tragic loss of two lives and left many more injured.
Despite the severity of the incident, the court cited a lack of sufficient evidence against Tunda. However, the court convicted two others, Aminuddin and Irfan, sentencing them to life imprisonment for their involvement in the blasts.
The CBI is now considering appealing Tunda”s acquittal before the Supreme Court.
Last year, a local court in Rohtak acquitted Tunda in connection with bomb blasts in Rohtak due to lack of evidence. The police had accused Tunda of being the mastermind of three bomb blasts in Rohtak in January 1997 in which eight people were injured.
Tunda, now in his 80s, is currently serving a life sentence following his conviction in a 1996 bomb blast case. His expertise in bomb-making has earned him the ominous moniker of “Dr. Bomb,” and he has been implicated in numerous other bombing incidents. Tunda is said to have close ties to terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.
The train bombings, which took place in Kota, Kanpur, Secunderabad, and Surat, sent shockwaves across the nation, occurring shortly after the devastating Bombay blasts. To address these heinous acts, a special court, operating under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, consolidated cases from various cities and jurisdictions. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spearheaded the extensive investigation into these coordinated attacks.
From carpenter to terrorist, Tunda”s involvement in terrorist activities dates back to the 1993 Mumbai blasts, where he suffered the loss of his left hand in a bomb-making accident. Over the years, he has collaborated with multiple extremist organisations, including Lashkar-e-Toiba, Indian Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Babbar Khalsa.
In 2013, Tunda was arrested near the India-Nepal border in Uttarakhand”s Banbasa region. Subsequently, in 2017, a Haryana court handed down a life sentence to him in connection with the 1996 blast case.
