Special TADA Court To Pronounce Verdict In 1993 Bomb Blast Case On June 16

The Special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Protection) Act (TADA) Court on Monday said the judgment on the involvement of seven accused in the 1993 bomb blast case will be pronounced on June 16.

Judge GA Sanap rejected an application filed by the lawyers for the accused seeking the date of pronouncement to be kept post Ramzan.

Abu Salem is one of the seven accused in the case, others are Mustafa Dossa, Karimullah Sheikh, Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Taklya, Abdul Qayyum, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan and Riyaz Siddiqui.

On March 12, 1993, blasts in 12 different locations across the city killed 257 persons and injured 713.

A charge sheet was filed against 129 accused, out of which 100 were convicted.

Twelve of the accused were awarded death sentence, while 20 were sentenced to life in 2006. Later, the trial court commuted the death sentence to life for 10 of the accused.

According to the prosecution, Abu Salem transported and distributed arms and ammunitions used in the blast, Mustafa Dossa arranged for the arms and explosives in Mumbai, and also sent some individuals to Pakistan for training.

While Salem was extradited from Portugal, Dossa was extradited from the UAE.