A Delhi court on Thursday convicted Tariq Ahmed Dar, the alleged mastermind of the Delhi serial blasts in 2005 that killed over 60 people, and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The co-accused in the case -- Mohammed Hussain Fazili and Mohammed Rafiq Shah -- have been acquitted of all charges.
"Justice has been denied, we will approach high court and will fight till the end," kin of victim in 2005 Delhi serial blasts was quoted by ANI as saying.
The court had booked them in 2008 for waging war and conspiring against the state, gathering arms, murder and attempt to murder. Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet against Dar citing the call data records of his mobile phone that allegedly proved that he was in contact with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives.
The verdict was initially scheduled to be delivered on Monday, but Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh postponed it to Thursday.
On October 29, 2005, a series of blasts had rocked Delhi claiming the lives of over 60 people and injuring another 210. The three blasts took place just two days before Diwali. The bombs went off in two markets in Sarojini Nagar and Paharganj and in a bus in Govindpuri area of Kalkaji.
The first bomb exploded in the main market of Paharganj, close to New Delhi railway station, just after 5.30 pm, while the second explosion took place at 6 pm near a bus stop in Govindpuri. The third bomb went off in the busy Sarojini Nagar market in south Delhi at 6.05 pm.
According to officials investigating the incident, Pakistan-based LeT was responsible for the blasts. Dar was arrested in Kashmir on November 10, 2005. The blasts were strongly condemned by leader across the world.
