NEW Delhi, Dec 17: Top Lashkar-e-Taiba bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda, one of the 20 terrorists India had asked Pakistan to hand over after 26/11 terror attacks, today moved a Delhi court seeking bail in the 1997 Sadar Bazar blasts case.
Tunda, against whom a supplementary charge sheet was recently filed by the special cell of Delhi Police in connection with the case, moved the bail plea which will come up for hearing before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Bansal on December 20.
In his plea filed through advocate M S Khan, Tunda, who was arrested from Indo-Nepal border on August 16 this year, said he has been chargesheeted by the police only on the basis of “disclosure statements” made by two accused persons, who were arrested earlier in connection with the case.
Tunda was chargesheeted for offences under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and the police had claimed that he was part of the conspiracy which led to two bomb blasts, one in Sadar Bazar and other in Qutab Road here, on October 1, 1997 in which several people were injured.
Earlier two persons — Mohd Shakil alias Hamza and Mohd Amir, were arrested in the case but Shakil was discharged by the court on April 17, 1999 while Amir was acquitted in the case on April 26, 2001.
In his bail plea, 72-year-old Tunda said “the only material on the basis of which the applicant (Tunda) was arrested and being prosecuted is the disclosure statements of the above two persons (Shakil and Amir) as well as of the applicant accused.”
Tunda said disclosure statement is not a “substantive piece of evidence” and it can be used only for a limited purpose as envisaged under the provisions of the Evidence Act.
“As per the prosecution, the applicant accused is being prosecuted for the offences under section 324/307/120-B IPC for the only reason that the disclosure statements made earlier by the above two persons and the one made by the applicant accused are corroborating each other and the same established a link of conspiracy between them,” the plea said.
Tunda also claimed that he has been “roped in” in the case only by the virtue of section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and as the earlier arrested accused have been either been discharged or acquitted, “the question of conspiracy with them does not arise.”
“The disclosure statements of Mohd Amir and Shakil have got no relevance and further the disclosure statement of the applicant accused or any other person is not admissible in evidence,” he said.
Seeking bail, Tunda also said “mere disclosure statement of the accused persons cannot nail or implicate” him in any manner in the case.
He claimed that as there is no evidence of any nature,the question of tampering does not arise.
The police, in its charge sheet, had said that during investigation Shakil and Amir had disclosed that the bomb blasts were carried out at the behest of Tunda.
It also claimed Tunda was interrogated after his arrest and he had told the investigators that he was involved in the conspiracy which led to these two blasts.
Tunda is presently in judicial custody in connection with various cases lodged against him. He was arrested from Indo-Nepal border on August 16 this year and he is suspected to be involved in 40 bombings in India. (AGENCIES)
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