The court in Haryana’s Sonepat on Tuesday sentenced Abdul Karim Tunda to life imprisonment in the 1996 Sonepat bomb blasts case.

75-year-old Tunda was on Monday convicted by the Additional District and Sessions Judge Sushil Kumar Garg.

He was held guilty under section 307 (attempt to murder) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act.

The court has also asked Tunda to pay Rs 50,000 under each of these sections.

While recording his statement in court in September this year, Tunda, who is currently lodged in a jail, had claimed that he was in Pakistan at the time of the blasts.

At least 15 persons were injured in twin blasts in Sonepat in 1996 — one near a cinema hall and another near a sweets shop.

Tunda was arrested from the Indo-Nepal border at Banbasa on August 16, 2013. He was suspected to be involved in several blasts cases across the country, some of which are still pending.