Delhi Police pulled up for not probing case against Tunda properly

A court here Wednesday pulled up Delhi Police for not properly probing the case against Lashkar-e-Taiba's bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda, booked under a stringent law over a 1994 case pertaining to recovery of explosive substances.

Hearing arguments, Additional Sessions Judge Bharat Parashar said: "You (police) give me everything in writing. Unless and until you will not give it in writing, I will order further investigation. This is not proper investigation."

The court directed the police to provide an advance copy of their written submission to defence counsel of Tunda, advocates M.S. Khan and Akram Khan.

Advocate M.S. Khan told the court that if provided with the written submissions in advance, he would file his arguments on June 30.

Earlier, the court has said that it can drop charges slapped under the (now lapsed) Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) against Tunda as it has not found any sufficient evidence against him.

However, the court indicated that it has found prima facie evidence against Tunda for charging him under the Explosive Substances Act.

Delhi Police March 12 filed a supplementary charge sheet against Tunda under the two laws.

The court earlier sought clarification from police whether they have any fresh evidence against Tunda for the charges under TADA while observing that other five co-accused, arrested in the case, were discharged by a trial court in December 1999 from TADA charges.

However, they were convicted under the explosives act and on charges of criminal conspiracy.

Police said the designated court, at that time, while acquitting the five co-accused under the provisions of TADA, had said Tunda was excluded from its observations.

Tunda was declared a proclaimed offender in the case of recovery of explosive substances. The case was registered in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar police station in 1994.

Police also said some accused were arrested Jan 17, 1994, and 150 kg explosives and six daggers were seized from their possession.

Police said Tunda is involved in 33 bomb blasts in India between 1994 and 1998, 22 of those in Delhi. He was arrested in August 2013.