Court to hear bail plea of LeT bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda on January 3

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court fixed January 3 next year for hearing the arguments on the bail plea of top Lashkar-e-Taiba ( LeT) bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda, one of the 20 terrorists India had asked Pakistan to hand over after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

72-year-old Tunda, who is in judicial custody in connection with various terror attack cases, had on December 17 filed a bail plea in connection with the 1997 Sadar Bazar blasts case.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Bansal today fixed his plea for hearing on January 3.

Tunda, in his plea filed through advocate M S Khan, had 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.

He was chargesheeted for offences under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and the police had claimed 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.

The police, in its charge sheet, had claimed that during investigation Shakil and Amir had disclosed that the bomb blasts were carried out at the behest of Tunda.

It had alleged that Tunda, arrested from Indo-Nepal border on August 16 this year, was interrogated after his arrest and he had told the investigators that he was involved in the conspiracy which led to these two blasts.

He is suspected to be involved in 40 bombings in India.