The Hindu : New Delhi News : Tunda alive in Pakistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 26, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Tunda alive in Pakistan

Devesh K. Pandey

The LeT militant was believed to have died in Bangladesh

NEW DELHI: Abdul Karim Tunda, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant wanted in connection with a series of bomb blasts in Delhi and neighbouring States between 1996 and 1998, is believed to be alive and operating from Pakistan. He was so far suspected to have been killed in a blast in Bangladesh a few years ago. Abdul Razzak Masood, the alleged LeT chief coordinator in Dubai arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi police this Monday, allegedly disclosed during his interrogation that he came across Tunda during a visit to Pakistan in November-December 2003. He met Tunda in his shop opposite Markaj Taiba main gate at Muridke in Lahore, a place close to the LeT headquarters. Abdul disclosed that Tunda has two wives and two sons. The younger one, Shahid, helps him in the perfume business, while the elder son is a LeT activist.

An expert in manufacturing bombs, Tunda is wanted in 33 cases under the Explosives Substances Act in Delhi and nearby States.

He was also instrumental in brainwashing Jalees Ansari, a doctor with the Birhan Mumbai Municipal Corporation, who triggered over 40 blasts in Mumbai and Hyderabad during 1992 and 1993. When Jalees was arrested in January 1994, Tunda fled to Bangladesh and set up his hideout at Jatra Bari in Dhaka.

He also visited a "madarsa" in Dhaka, where he apparently ran a research centre to develop improvised explosive devices. According to intelligence sources, the building where he lived housed several fundamentalist organisations, which published inflammatory magazines like "Madeena".

In Dhaka, Tunda lived with the pseudonym Abdur Rehman and Suleiman. He had great influence on the Darul students, some of whom would form a security ring around him. Tunda also worked for an organisation that allegedly patronised fundamentalist outfits. In 1997, Tunda was found living in the Mohammadi Housing Society in Dhaka.

The police learnt more about his activities after two of his Bangladeshi students, Mati-ur-Rehman, code named Moosa, and Akbar, code named Haroon, were arrested from Sadar Bazar railway station here in February 1998 in connection with the serial blasts. The police arrested 24 other members of the module, including Tunda's confidants, Kamran and Shakeel. The militants, who addressed Tunda as Baba, told their interrogators that they triggered the blasts at his instance.

Moosa disclosed that he first met Baba when he was pursuing primary education in Dhaka. In that "madarsa", Baba would offer prayers and teach students. Like several others, Moosa came close to him and then Haroon also joined him in October 1997. Moosa recalled that Baba would remain busy experimenting with chemicals and taught his students ways to manufacture bombs. Meanwhile, Abdul Razzak was on Thursday handed over to the Hyderabad police for his interrogation in connection with the Sai Baba temple scooter blast case.

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