15 blast convicts released from jail

Mumbai, Dec 3 (UNI) Fifteen out of the seventeen convicts, who were granted bail by the Supreme Court along with Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt in the 93 Mumbai serial blasts case, have been released till today.

Highly placed sources at the TADA court told UNI that all the released convicts have to furnish surety and cannot leave the country without the permission of the court.

The other two convicts, who are still languishing in jail, were Abdul Aziz Shaikh and Ramesh Mali. The TADA court has not yet issued their release orders as the formalities regarding their release were under process.

All the released convicts, who were lodged in different jails of the state, were also asked by the apex court to visit the CBI office once a month.

Along with Dutt, 28 convicts had moved their bail plea but the court granted bail only to 17. The plea of 11 convicts, including three family members of absconding accused Tiger Memon, was adjourned by the court on the grounds that they are facing life imprisonment and involved in the conspiracy of the serial blasts that rocked the metropolis on March 12, 1993 killing 257 people, injuring 725 and damaging property worth crores of rupees.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the Apex Court will also hear the bail plea of a convict, Salim Durani, who was awarded five years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) for possessing arms in the notified area of the city. Besides, he was also found guilty by a lower court of being a part of the conspiratorial meeting held at Dubai.

UNI