By IANS,
New Delhi : A city court Saturday recorded the statement of an eyewitness who identified the man who planted a bomb in a Delhi Transport Corporation bus as part of the serial bomb blasts in the capital in 2005, killing at least 60 people.
Recording the statement in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Babulal, Rajiv Sinha, an executive with an advertising firm, identified Mohammed Rafiq Shah who left the bag containing explosives on the seat next to him.
“He (Rafiq) boarded the bus at Noida Mor and came to me and asked me to vacate the seat. When I refused he asked my fellow passenger who agreed to give him seat. Then he left his bag with the fellow passenger and said he will come back after taking tickets.
“But he never returned and then we alerted the bus driver and conductor about the bag,” Rajiv said while pointing his finger towards Rafiq, one of the five accused arrested in the case.
The court will resume recording the statement Aug 30. It has already recorded the statement of Kuldeep Singh, the bus driver, and other DTC staff members.
Singh suffered injuries in the blast and is still battling to regain his vision.
Three blasts took place in the capital Oct 29, 2005, one at the crowded Sarojini Nagar market, another in the Paharganj market and third in a bus in Govindpuri, killing at least 60 people and injuring over 100.
Five people have been arrested and charged with murder and sedition for carrying out the blasts.
Tariq Ahmed Dar, the alleged mastermind of the bombings, has been charged with waging war against the country and murder, among other charges.
Mohammed Rafiq Shah, Mohammed Hussain Fazli and Farooq Ahmed Batloo have been booked for criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder and sections of the explosives act while the fifth accused Ghulam Ahmed Khan has also been booked under the explosives act.