A local court in Haryana on Tuesday sentenced alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda to life imprisonment in the 1996 Sonipat bomb blasts case, ANI reported. The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on the 75-year-old.
On Monday, Additional District and Sessions Judge Sushil Kumar Garg had convicted Tunda under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of the Explosives Act, according to PTI.
Tunda’s lawyer Ashish Vats had said they would challenge the verdict before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Tunda, who is currently in a jail in Sonipat, had claimed that he was in Pakistan during the 1996 blasts. At least 15 people were injured in two explosions at a cinema hall and another near a sweets shop in Sonipat.
The suspected LeT operative was one of the 20 terrorists India had asked Pakistan to hand over after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008. He was arrested from the Indo-Nepal border at Uttarakhand’s Banbasa on August 16, 2013. He was suspected to be involved in as many as 20 blasts across the country.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!