TADA to order separating Salem's trial tomorrow

Mumbai, Feb 28: The TADA Court, trying the 1993 serial bomb blast cases, will pass an order tomorrow to separate the trial of extradited gangster Abu Salem and his associate Riyaz Siddiqui after the CBI files its supplementary report (chargesheet) against both of them.

On February 16, the CBI had sought time to file its reply till March 1st as the investigation was in progress.

Earlier, the TADA court had separated the trial of Mohammed Ahmed Dorsa alias Mustafa Majnu and Ijaz Patan, deported from Dubai, when they were produced by the CBI last year after the blast case's trial was concluded.

With the CBI submitting its supplementary report tomorrow, the TADA court is likely to make public, the confessional statement of Salem.

According to CBI sources, Salem had earlier recorded his confessional statement before a city Magistrate wherein he is said to have confessed his involvement in the crime and also of the delivery of an AK-56 rifle to cine star Sanjay Dutt, who is also an accused and facing charges under TADA.

The copy of the said confessional statement was earlier submitted to TADA Judge P D Kode, in a sealed envelope, who after perusing it had indicated that it would be made public after CBI filed charges against the accused.

Salem was also booked for his alleged involvement in the murders of builder Pradeep Jain and Manisha Koirala's former secretary Ajit Diwani. In both the cases, Salem made confessions, but later retracted, alleging that the same were recorded under duress.

UNI