Delhi cops get Tunda's custody for three days

A court here Saturday sent Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) bomb maker and terrorist Abdul Karim Tunda to three days' Delhi police custody in a 1997 blast case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Bansal sent Tunda, 70, to police custody after he was presented in court at the end of his remand in another bomb blast case.

Seeking three days custody of Tunda, police said it was needed in connection with a 1997 blast case in which one woman was killed and several other persons were injured.

This is the fourth case lodged against Tunda in which police have taken his custody.

Tunda was arrested in Uttarakhand's Banbasa area close to the Nepal border when he was trying to enter India Aug 16, police said.

On Oct 26, 1997 a bomb had exploded at Bedanpura area in central Delhi resulting in the death of a woman. During a subsequent search operation, a live bomb was recovered by the investigators and defused, police said.

During the investigation, some Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals were also arrested, police said.

Two of the arrested accused, Mohd Amir Khan and Mohd Shakeel, revealed their role in the Oct 26 blast and said they had been trained by Tunda in preparing bombs.

The remand application of the police said: "They (Amir and Shakeel) had also disclosed that their mentor Abdul Karim alias Tunda discussed with them the plan of carrying out bomb blasts in Delhi and he (Tunda) further directed them to execute the plans by carrying out bomb blasts in crowded places like Karol Bagh so that maximum casualties occur."

Tunda's advocate Akram Khan opposed the police remand application saying his client has been in police custody for over 40 days in connection with three separate cases.

Tunda is suspected to be involved in over 40 bombings in the country.

An aide of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim, the terrorist was also wanted for suspected involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.