TADA Court acquits 1993 serial blasts case prime accused Abdul Karim Tunda, 2 sentenced to life

The special court in Ajmer for the trial of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) cases on Thursday acquitted Abdul Karim Tunda, prime accused in the 1993 serial blasts case citing lack of evidence. The court convicted two other convicts for life imprisonment.

Tunda, allegedly the mastermind behind the series of blasts that rocked several locations across the country was arrested by CBI in January 2014, near the Nepal border. 

Tunda has allegedly been associated with extremist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI), among others, Hindustan Times reported. Tunda is alleged to be involved in at least 40 bomb blast cases across the country.

A series of bomb blasts took place in Rajdhani express trains across various parts of the country, including Mumbai, Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, and Surat on December 6, 1993. 

The blasts were allegedly to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid on the same day in 1992. Several landmark locations in Mumbai were also targeted by the accused, sources reported.

Following the blasts, five cases were registered at respective police stations in Kota, Valsad, Kanpur, Allahabad and Malka Giri and were later transferred to CBI and re-registered under TADA, Live Law reported.

The special court sentenced two other accused Hameeduddin and Irfan Ahmed to life imprisonment.