2 aides of India's wanted terrorist convicted

Mumbai, Sept 22: Two aides of India's most wanted terrorist and Mumbai underworld don Dawood Ibrahim were today found guilty by a TADA court of involvement in the serial bomb blasts that killed 257 people and wounded over 700 in the country's worst terror attack in the commercial capital in 1993.

This is the first judicial finding on the involvement of Dawood Ibrahim in the terror attack.

Erstwhile smugglers of gold, the designated court of Mr Pramod Kode found Dawood Phanse and Sharif Parkar guilty of landing and handling of deadly arms and ammunition brought to India at the behest of prime absconding accused Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Menon.

The arsenal was used in the serial blasts on March 12, 1993.

The court found Phanse, 82, guilty of attending a meeting at Dubai in February 1993, where the blasts conspiracy was hatched by Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon. He was also convicted on the charge of organising the landing of arms, ammunition and explosives on Shekhadi coast in Raigad district on February 3 and 7, 1993.

By accepting Phanse's confession, retracted later, that he had gone to Dubai to attend the meeting convened by Dawood Ibrahim, the court, for the first time, has also given a judicial finding on the involvement of the underworld don in the case.

The court found Sharif Parkar, 81, guilty of organising a training camp for handling arms and ammunition but observed that the charge that he personally received training at these camps is not proved.

The court also found Parkar guilty of arranging a meeting between police and custom officials and prime accused Tiger Memon, to facilitate landing of the arms and ammunition.

The charges that he paid bribes to custom and police officials to facilitate smooth landing and transportation of arms and ammunition is also proved, Mr Kode observed.

With two convictions today, the court has so far convicted eleven accused and discharged three out of the total 123 acused who faced trial.

Both Phanse and Parker were named by an approver and identified by prosecution witnesses during an identification parade held in court.

Having retracted their confessional statements, both the accused were in jail for 13 years.

Both were charged under the now-lapsed Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention ) Act.

Phanse was convicted under section 3 (3) (aiding and abetting the conspiracy) and section 6 (punishment extending from five years to life) besides provisions of the Arms Act, the Explosive Act and Explosive Substances Act.

Parkar was also found guilty under section 3 (3) and section 6 of the TADA Act for organising landing of arms and ammunition at Shekhadi coast in Raigad district on February 3 and 7, 1993.

He was also found guilty of showing a location in village Sandheri and Borghat in Raigad where co-accused were given arms training.

Both the accused hail from Raigad district.

UNI

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