Rohtak court acquits Abdul Karim, alias Tunda, in 1997 twin blasts case

Sunit Dhawan

Rohtak, February 17

The court of Rohtak Additional Sessions Judge Raj Kumar Yadav on Friday acquitted Abdul Karim, alias Tunda, an accused in the twin blasts case of 1997.

Tunda, who is lodged in Central Jail, Ajmer, appeared before the court through video-conferencing.

“The court acquitted him owing to lack of evidence,” said Tunda’s lawyer Vineet Verma.

Tunda, a native of Pilkhua village in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh, was alleged to be a bomb-maker and close to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. He has been named in several blast cases in different parts of Haryana and elsewhere.

Two bomb blasts had rocked Rohtak on January 22, 1997. One blast took place in the Old Sabzi Mandi area and the other on the Quilla Road within a span of 30 minutes. Several persons were injured in the blasts.

Later that year, a special investigation team (SIT) of the Delhi Police arrested one Mohammed Amir Khan, who reportedly confessed his involvement in the Rohtak blasts.

On being interrogated by Rohtak police, Khan reportedly named Tunda, who was at large at that time. Khan faced trial in the twin blasts case, in which two FIRs were registered. Khan got acquitted in both cases in 2011 and 2012.

In 2013, a CBI team arrested Tunda from the Indo-Nepal border. He was brought to Rohtak on a production warrant on October 26, 2013. Since then, he was facing trial in the twin blasts case of Rohtak. As many as 69 hearings were held in the case which went on for more than nine years.

Timeline:

Twin blasts in Rohtak: 1997

Mohammed Amir Khan arrested by Delhi Police SIT: 1997

Khan acquitted in first case: 2011

Khan acquitted in second case: 2012

Tunda arrested by CBI: 2013

Tunda acquitted by Rohtak court: 2023