Delhi Police on Tuesday told a court in New Delhi that alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba operative and bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda is involved in 33 terror attack cases between 1994 and 1998 in Delhi and other states.
While 22 cases have been registered in the national capital, there are 11 cases against Tunda in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan including one being probed by CBI.
“Total of 22 cases are lodged against accused Abdul Karim Tunda in Delhi. The accused has been arrested in only four cases,” Special Cell of Delhi Police said in a written reply to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal.
It also said that charge sheet has been filed against Tunda in only three of the cases. “The fourth one is being investigated by the Special Cell,” police said.
Tunda was one of the 20 terrorists India had asked Pakistan to hand over after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
The police’s reply came on an application moved by Tunda seeking direction to police to furnish him details of the cases pending against him in India.
Tunda had said that it was not known if there are more pending cases as alleged against him and that “he has a right to know and to seek trial or avail legal remedies available to him”.
“It is, therefore, most respectfully and in the interest of justice prayed that direction may kindly be issued to the SHO special cell to furnish the details of the remaining cases pending against the applicant/accused and to arrest him, if required,” the plea said.
The court had directed police to give details of the cases pending against Tunda.
72-year-old Tunda, arrested by Delhi Police from India-Nepal border on August 16 last year, is wanted in Rajasthan for the past 20 years in connection with the 1993 tiffin box blasts case and an explosion on Rajdhani Express near Lakheri in Bundi district the same year.
At present, the sessions judge is hearing arguments on framing of charges in 1997 Sadar Bazar blasts case in which a charge sheet was recently filed against Tunda by the special cell.
A charge sheet was filed against Tunda, who is in judicial custody in connection with various terror attack cases, for offences under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC.
Police had claimed that he was part of the conspiracy which led to two 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.
The police, in its charge sheet, had claimed that during the investigation, Shakil and Amir had disclosed that the bomb blasts were carried out at the behest of Tunda.
