Terror funding case of 2005 Delhi blasts enters last stage

As investigators probe to crack recent incidents of bomb blasts, the case of funding of the October 2005 blasts that occurred in crowded markets of Delhi has reached prosecution stage, making it one of the first cases of conviction for terror financing in the country.

The main accused in the case, Tarique Ahmed Dar, is presently lodged in the high-security Tihar jail in Delhi after he was caught and probed by the Special Cell of Delhi Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for masterminding and funding the blasts which occurred on the eve of Diwali in 2005 at prime markets like Sarojini Nagar and Paharganj.

Investigators privy to the probe said the case has recently been listed at the special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court at Karkardooma and Dar may be sentenced to three-seven years' rigorous imprisonment for "conducting bomb blast and waging war against the nation" and committing the "crime of money laundering".

The case could well become the first important conviction case of terror financing in the country, official sources said.

The blast killed 67 people and injured more than 200.

The Adjudicating Authority for PMLA had in 2009 attached Dar's four bank accounts which had a cumulative balance of slightly under Rs6 lakh as "proceeds of crime" under the stringent provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Dar, according to the ED charge sheet of 2009, had received close to Rs five lakh from Dubai just two days prior to the blasts.

The explosions took place during the peak evening hours on October 29, 2005.

The ED charge sheet said that "Dar was the main person behind these blasts and was regularly in contact with Abu Al Kama, operative of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

"For initiating and organising the bomb blasts, Dar and the others received huge amounts of money from persons residing abroad."

The Directorate also stumbled upon illegal transfers of funds to Dar's accounts in a circuitous way through certain Hawala operators based in Delhi's Chandni Chowk area.

The ED probe found that Dar received illegal funds used for financing terrorist activities through "telegraphic transfers" in his bank accounts in Jammu and Kashmir.

"...the money deposited in his bank accounts was not his legally earned money but was received for the nefarious purposes of conducting bomb blast and for waging war against the nation," the ED attachment order had said.