TADA court to decide fate of two arms landing agents tomorrow

Mumbai, Sep 21 (UNI) The TADA court here will tomorrow decide the fate of two accused charged with smuggling deadly arms and explosives that were used in the 1993 serial bomb blasts in the city.

Dawood Phanse alias Dawood Taklya and Sherif Parkar alias Dada Bhai had been charged with arranging landing of arms, ammunition and RDX at Shekhadi in Raigad district between February 3 to February 7, 1993.

Both hail from Raigad district.

The explosives were used in the serial blasts on March 12, 1993, in which 257 people were killed and over 700 injured.

So far the TADA court, presided over by Pramod Kode, has convicted nine accused and discharged three out of the 123 who faced trial in the case.

Both Dawood and Sharif were named by an approver and identified by prosecution witnesses during an identification parade held in the court.

Having retracted their their confessional statements, both the accused have already been in jail for 13 years.

Charged under TADA, Dawood faced trial on three counts and Sharif on four counts under sections 3(3) and 6 of the Act.

Dawood was charged with having attended a conspiracy meeting at Dubai in January, 1993 in which the prime absconding accused Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar alias Tiger Memon and others also participated. It was in this meeting, Dawood had agreed to arrange for shipping of the arms and explosives to India.

Dawood was one of the main agents who headed the landing operation engineered by Tiger Memon and others.

Sharif was also charged with organising a training camp conducted by Tiger Memon for receiving training in handling of arms and ammunition. He had also held meetings with customs officers who had helped him in the landing of arms.

UNI XR-KU SA VD RAI1849