Court acquits five, convicts one in Mumbai serial blasts case

Mumbai, Sep 28 (UNI) A TADA court today acquitted five accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case but convicted one for his role in the landing of arms and ammunition at Shekhadi in Raigad in Maharashtra before the blasts.

Those acquitted on the benefit of the doubt for want of sufficient evidence against them by the designated court of Judge Pramod Kode were Manzoor Querishi, Kasam Shaikh, Sultan-E-Rome, Abdul Aziz Shaikh and Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh.

The court, however, found Sarfaraz Phanse guilty of involvement in the landing of arms, ammunition and RDX at Shekhadi coast in Raigad. The arsenal was used in triggering multiple blasts that killed 257 people in India's worst terror attack in its financial capital on March 12, 1993.

Sarfarz's father Dawood Phanse, too, had been convicted of the similar charge by the court on September 22. While accepting his guilt the next day, the 82-year-old Phanse pleaded for leniency, saying, '' I want to die at home instead of jail.'' Those acquitted today were alleged to be aides to prime absconding accused Tiger Memon.

Charged under section 120-B IPC (conspiracy) and section 3 (3) of TADA (aiding and abetting terrorist act), CBI, the prosecuting agency, had alleged all the five accused had gone to Dubai on February 15, 1993 and attended a meeting there as part of the conspiracy hatched by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon for the blasts. It further alleged they were to receive training in handling of arms and explosives in Pakistan but could not do so as co-conspirators could not make travel arrangements for them.

When acquitted, each of the five accused thanked the judge and their defence lawyers Abbas Kazmi, Farana Shah and Subhash Kanse.

Kanse repeated, ''I am obliged to the court'' five times when the judge pronounced acquittal of the five accused one after the other.

With today's orders, the court has so far convicted 20 accused, including five policemen and four members of the Memon family, and acquitted 11, including three cops and an equal number of members of the Memon family.

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