2005 serial blasts convict Tariq Dar gets bail, to walk free soon

NEW DELHI: The 2005 Delhi serial blasts convict Tariq Ahmed Dar will walk free after spending 11 years jail as a Delhi court granted him bail in a money laundering case on Monday.

Sources said if the formalities are completed in time, Dar will be released by Monday night or else, he will be out by Tuesday morning. The money laundering case is related to the serial bomb blasts, in which a complaint filed by the enforcement directorate (ED) said that Dar had received foreign funding through banks for carrying out terrorist activities.

The court noted that the evidence (banking transactions ) in the present case was the same which was presented in an earlier case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Dar has been acquitted in the UAPA case, said Dar’s counsel, Satish Tamta.

In the case registered under UAPA, the court didn’t convict Dar on charges framed by the police but said he was found guilty of other offences — being a part of a terrorist organisation and providing support to such an outfit. These charges were not originally framed by the police.

Dar was arrested by Delhi Police’s special cell from Srinagar in November, 2005. However, this particular case of money laundering dates back to November 2011.

Granting bail to Dar, additional sessions judge Reetesh Singh also ordered him to furnisha personal bond of ₹25,000 with one surety of the like amount.

There is another case under the Arms Act registered against Dar in Jammu and Kashmir, in which he had already got bail. If convicted, Dar will face a maximum of two years of imprisonment in the case.

Dar was sentenced to a 10-year jail term by the court on February 16 in the 2005 Delhi serial blasts case for being a member of banned terror outfit Lashkar-eTaiba (LeT) and extending support to it.

The court had acquitted two others — Mohd Rafiq Shah and Mohd Hussain Fazili — of all charges, saying the special cell of the Delhi Police had “miserably failed” to prove the charges against them.

FAMILY RELIEVED

Dar’s family said they were relieved that he will see be able to walk free after more than 11 years. They said they will appeal in the high court against the verdict in the blasts case in which he has been convicted.