Jail term over but Tariq Dar not yet free Freed by court but a long road to normal life ahead
DELHI SERIAL BLASTS Tariq Ahmed Dar to stay in jail till conclusion of trial in a money laundering case against him
NEWDELHI:Tariq Ahmad Dar was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a Delhi court on Thursday, which he has already served having been in prison as his trial dragged on for 12 years. Dar, however, was unlikely to be released from prison as a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was pending against him.
Dar’s counsel Satish Tamta expressed confidence that Dar would not have to stay in Tihar prison for long as the maximum punishment under the PMLA act is of seven years. Dar has already served more than 11 years behind bars after his arrest in the case.
Tamta will file a bail application for Dar’s release on Friday. 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 terrorist activities, Tamta said.
Sources said there was another case under the Arms Act registered against Dar in Jammu and Kashmir. If convicted, Dar will face a maximum of two years of imprisonment in the case.
In the 2005 serial blasts, which claimed 67 lives, police said Tariq Ahmed Dar was a part of conspiracy leading directly to the blasts that took place on October 29, 2005. Police had told the court that Dar had received around ₹14 lakh as hawala money for carrying out the blasts.
The court convicted Tariq Ahmad Dar for offences 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 evidence regarding his role in the blasts.
The serial blasts at three places —Sarojini Nagar, Paharganj and Kalkaji — on October 29, 2005 left 67 dead and injured over 225 persons.
Observing that no conclusive evidence was found against Dar about his alleged role in the blasts, the court acquitted him of the charges of conspiracy to wage a war against the country by carrying out the blasts.
Dar was working as a sales representative of 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 lived in Solina in Srinagar and was returning from work in his Maruti 800 when he was stopped by a few men in plain clothes.
They told him his car’s tyre was about to come off. He was then taken away and formally arrested for involvement in Delhi serial blasts.
I want the real culprits to be caught. The victims of the blast must also get justice. I want to tell the cops who arrested me that they are humans first and then policemen Fazili used to spend most of his time reading books. He would get books from the prison library and read them daily. Before being arrested, he made shawls in Kashmir. Rafiq won’t probably be able to start his career as an academic. But for his family, their son has returned. He will be there for his parents, as they grow old.
SRINAGAR: The acquittal of Mohammed Rafiq Shah in the 2005 Delhi serial blasts case has left his relatives and friends in Kashmir euphoric.
They, however, know that life will not be the same for the man.
Three separate explosions ripped through crowded spots in the heart of the Capital on October 29, 2005, when thousands of people were out shopping before Diwali, leaving a trail of mangled bodies and metal strewn across markets.
Shah and Mohammed Hussain Fazili, two Kashmiri men, were arrested and later charged for the three blasts by the police.
But they were acquitted by a city court on Thursday after spending 12 years in jail in the case that killed 67 people and left more than 200 injured.
The twin acquittals triggered allegations of a botched up police investigation, a claim vehemently denied by the police.
“Twelve years is a long time. The sad part is that police arrested Rafiq based on fabricated evidence. While I completed my PhD, my friend rotted in prison,” Bashir Ahmad Dar, a college lecturer and close friend of Rafiq told HT.
Bashir was a junior to Rafiq, then 22, in the Kashmir University before his arrest. Bashir was in the political science stream while Rafiq was studying Islamic studies.
“It was a shock for the whole community, especially for us, the students,” Bashir said.
“We got to know the next morning that Rafiq had been picked up from his house in Srinagar on allegations of having carried out the bomb blasts in Delhi. But, he was with us at the University that day,” recounted Bashir.
“Twelve years is a long time. And, if you consider academically, the lost time can never be returned. His batchmates and even juniors have completed their research and received PhDs. Many are assistant professors now,” he added.
Rafiq is the eldest sibling and has two sisters. His father is a retired government employee. Bashir closeness to Rafiq’s family increased after the latter was imprisoned.
It was Bashir who accompanied Rafiq’s mother to Tihar jail on numerous occasions.
“In the last twelve years, whenever Rafiq’s mother mentioned her son, she had tears in her eyes. The family struggled a lot in the past 12 years,” Bashir said.
Bashir feels that a proper closure in the case was possible only if the policemen responsible for fabricating evidence to build their case were brought to justice.
“Rafiq won’t probably be able to start his career as an academic. But for his family, their son has returned. He will be there for his parents, as they grow old,” said Bashir.