Abdul Karim Tunda, alleged LeT bomb maker & Dawood aide, acquitted in 1993 bomb blast case. Who is he?

Abdul Karim Tunda was arrested in 2013 by the special cell of Delhi Police from the Indo-Nepal border.

A Terrorist and Anti-Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court on Thursday acquitted 1993 serial blasts accused Abdul Karim Tunda due to lack of evidence. 

“Abdul Karim Tunda is innocent, today the Court gave this judgement. Abdul Karim Tunda has been acquitted in all sections and all acts. CBI prosecution could not produce any concrete piece of evidence before the court in TADA, IPC, Railway Acts, Arms Act, or Explosive Substances Act,” Tunda's lawyer Shafqat Sultani was quoted by ANI as saying.

Abdul Karim Tunda was acquitted by a Terrorist & Anti-Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, in Ajmer,(PTI)

Who is Abdul Karim Tunda?

1. Hailing from Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, Syed Abdul Karim worked as a carpenter is Pilkhuwa. According to reports, he got the nickname ‘Tunda’ after losing an arm while making a bomb. 
    
2. Tunda is said to have been trained in making improvised explosive devices (IED) in Pakistan. According to Mint, he had told police about his contacts with Pakistan spy agency Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) during his stay in the country.
3. Tunda came in touch with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and became a top bomb maker for the terror outfit. He is also said to be close to Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.
4. He was charged with carrying out serial blasts in trains in 1993 that claimed two lives. The explosions had took place in trains passing through Kota, Kanpur, Secunderabad and Surat. The CBI had charged Tunda with carrying out blasts in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Rohtak and Jalandhar.
5. Now in his 80s, Tunda is serving a life term after being convicted in a 1996 bomb blast case. Last year, he was acquitted in a 1997 twin blast case which occurred in Rohtak.

6. The TADA court had framed charges against Tunda, the main accused, and ”Irfan alias Pappu and Hamiduddi” on September 30, 2021.