2005 Delhi serial blasts: Court awards 10-yr jail term to man

A Delhi court today awarded ten- year jail term to a man, facing trial in the 2005 Diwali-eve serial blasts that had claimed 67 lives, for being a member of banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and extending support to it.
It acquitted two other persons -- Mohd Rafiq Shah and Mohd Hussain Fazili -- of all charges, saying the special cell of the Delhi Police had "miserably failed" to prove the charges against them.
The court convicted Tariq Ahmed Dar for the offence punishable under Section 38 (being the member of a terror organisation) and Section 39 (giving support to such outfit) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), but did not find any conclusive evidence regarding his role in the blasts.

The serial blasts at three places - Sarojini Nagar, Paharganj and Kalkaji - on October 29, 2005 had taken a toll of 67 lives and injured over 225 persons.
Dar, who has remained in jail for over 11 years, would also come out of prison as he has already undergone the jail term.
Observing that no conclusive evidence was found against Dar about his alleged role in the blasts, Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh consequently, acquitted him of the charges of conspiracy to wage a war against the government by carrying out the blasts.

Interestingly, the special court had not framed charges under the relevant provisions of the UAPA under which he was convicted and awarded the jail term.

In its order, the court said, "the prosecution has not been able to prove any link between Mohd Hussain Fazili and Mohd Rafiq Shah on one hand, and Dar on the other."
"In the absence of any evidence regarding Dar being involved in the conspiracy behind these blasts, none of the charges framed against him are made out," it said.
However, the court said that "even though no charge was framed against Dar for the offences under sections 38 and 39 of UAPA, the ingredients of the offences (38 and 39 UAPA) are very much made out".
The court said the prosecution had "miserably failed" to

prove that Mohd Rafiq Shah was involved in the placing of the bomb in a DTC bus on the fateful evening and neither could it prove that Mohd Hussain Fazili was involved in any manner with the conspiracy behind blasts.
Farooq Ahmed Batloo and Ghulam Ahmed Khan had earlier pleaded guilty and were let off by the court for the period already undergone by them. Terror funding was the allegation against both these accused.
Three separate cases were registered by police after the blasts. The court had clubbed all the three cases for the purpose of recording of evidence.
As per the prosecution, Dar, along with Abu Ozefa, Abu Al Kama, Rashid, Sazid Ali and Zahid, had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to wage a war against the country and planned serial blasts. All these five co-accused are still at large and are said to be in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Prosecution said that Dar had allegedly hatched a conspiracy with the LeT militants to plan and carry out the bomb blasts in the national capital.