A Delhi court on Thursday dismissed a police plea for permission to conduct brain mapping test of Abdul Karim Tunda after the arrested top LeT bomb expert refused to give his consent for it citing his old age and health problems.
Tunda, who was produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Bansal, told the court that he does not want to undergo brain mapping test.
“I am a person of about 72 year of age and I am suffering from various aliments. Recently one pacemaker has also been inserted in me and I am also suffering from high blood pressure. In these circumstances and my medical condition, I do not want that brain mapping test be conducted upon me.
“I specifically decline my consent for getting conducted the brain mapping test upon me. I understand the meaning and consequences of this,” Tunda told the court.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police had on Wednesday moved an application for court’s permission to conduct Tunda’s brain mapping test in a bid to unearth the terrorist network of his associates in India and Pakistan.
During the arguments on the application, advocate M S Khan, who appeared for Tunda, told the court that an accused cannot be compelled to undergo such a test.
He also cited a 2010 judgement passed by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court saying such tests cannot be conducted on the accused in the absence of his consent.
Public Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan too referred to the same judgement of the apex court saying certain guidelines were framed by the bench in this regard.
The court, however, declined the police plea citing Tunda’s old age, his health condition and his refusal to give his consent.
The police in its plea had said that the test would help them in probing “grand conspiracies” being hatched by “forces inimical to the security and sovereignty of the nation”.
‘Accused exploiting his age’
The police said the FSL experts had carried out detailed screening-cum-interview sessions of Tunda and have opined that he is “exploiting” his old age and related illnesses to his advantage by not providing correct answers.
It had also said that being a hardcore terrorist, Tunda was closely associated with top leaders of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Pakistan’s ISI and other terrorists organisations.
“Being a close associate of Hafeez Saeed, the chief of LeT, he has attended all important meetings of the outfit and its mentor, the ISI, and has been a highly influential figure at terrorist training camps being run by LeT in Muzaffarabad (PoK) and infiltration of terrorists into India for execution of terrorist activities in India,” the application stated.
The police had also said Tunda had participated by way of command and control of almost all “heinous and spectacular” terror strikes committed by LeT in India over the years.
Tunda, one of the 20 terrorists whom India had asked Pakistan to hand over after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, was arrested from Indo-Nepal border on August 16 and is suspected to be involved in 40 bombings in the country.
Tunda is now in police custody till September 28 in connection with the case of 1997 Sadar Bazar blast here in which 30 people were injured near a procession on October 1, 1997.
