2005 serial blast convict's appeal: HC seeks police reply

The Delhi High Court today sought the response of the police on a 2005 Delhi serial blast convict's plea against his conviction in the case.
Justice Ashutosh Kumar issued notice to the Delhi Police and asked them to file their response to Tariq Ahmed Dar's appeal.
A special court here had convicted Dar for the offences of being a member of a terror outfit and giving support to it, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for which the maximum sentence is 10 years imprisonment.
The trial court had convicted Dar in connection with the 2005 Diwali-eve serial blasts that had claimed 67 lives.

The serial blasts at three places - Sarojini Nagar, Paharganj and Kalkaji - on October 29, 2005 had left 67 dead and over 225 persons injured.
Dar, on February 16 this year, was awarded ten years imprisonment in the case in which he has been behind bars for 12 years as the proceedings had dragged on.

However, he was not released from jail as a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was pending against him. The trial court had granted him bail in the money laundering case on February 20.
Senior advocate Satish Tamta, appearing for Dar, said the trial court committed an error while holding his client guilty under the UAPA as there was no evidence against him.

While convicting Dar, the trial court had 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 any charges against them.
The PMLA case too is related to the 2005 serial bomb blast, in which a complaint was filed in 2008 alleging that Dar received foreign funding for carrying out the terrorist activities.
Dar was working as a sales representative in a multinational firm when he was arrested by Delhi Police's special cell from Srinagar on November 10, 2005.
A father of two girls, Dar was returning from work when four men in civilian clothes stopped him and whisked him away before formally arresting him.