Punish those named in Srikrishna Commission report, says accused

Mumbai, Sep 21 (UNI) Mumbai serial blast accused Abdul Ghani Truk who had planted the bomb at Century Bazaar, today said that those named in the Srikrisha Commission report should be punished.

''I am not a terrorist, I am an Indian,'' he said during the recording of his statement before TADA judge P D Kode on the ' quantum of punishment to be decided after he was found guilty.

Truk appealed to the court to be lenient while awarding the punishment to him, saying he had an 80-yr-old mother to look after and two daughters to support. He was the only source of income in his family and the entire resposibility was on his shoulders, he added.

He was alredy in jail for 13 years, hence the period should be set off and he be freed.

He attributed the cause of the blast to the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya and the communal riots that followed in Mumbai.

Even the Srikrishna Commission, which had probed the Mumbai riots had also come to the same conclusion, he said, during riots, nobody listened to the grievances of Muslims. ''Even the police acted partially,'' he alleged.

'If communal hatred is not eradicated, such incidents will happen in future,'' truk warned.

The court will decide on the quantum of punishment after hearing both the defence and the prosecution tomorrow. Meanwhile, in a related development, the Dubai-deported blasts accused Ejaz Pathan, today moved bail application on medical and humanitarian grounds.

Advocate Abass Kazmi, appearing on behalf of Pathan, told the court that his cllent was suffering from serious ailments and recently he had undergone a cataract operation. He should be also developed some neurological problem. Therefore he should be released on interim bail on medical and humanitarian grounds, he said.

After hearing the counsel for Pathan, the court directed the CBI to file a reply in this regard and adjourned the hearing till the reply was filed.

UNI XR-KU VD GC1632