Court to decide fate of 5 Pakistan-trained accused tomorrow

Mumbai, Sep 28 (UNI) The TADA court will tomorrow decide the fate of five more people accused of involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts conspiracy and on the charge of having obtained training in handling of arms and explosives in Pakistan.

The five accused are Gul Mohammed Shaikh, Mohammed Hanif Shaikh, Mohammed Issaq , Ibrahim Hussain Shaikh , and Usman Khan.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, the prosecuting agency, had charged them under section 120-B of the IPC for having participated in various stages of conspiracy hatched in India, Dubai and Pakistan.

The prosecution has also charged them with having received training in Pakistan in the handling of arms and explosives and thus aiding and abetting the terrorist crime in which 257 people were killed and over 700 wounded on March 12, 1993. The CBI had slapped section 3(3) of the now-lapsed Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act against them on this account.

The defence had argued that the accused, however, did not make use of the training they allegedly had in Pakistan.

The court of Mr Pramod Kode, which started delivering verdict in the case on September 12, has so far held 20 accused guilty and acquitted 11.

A total of 123 accused, including film star Sanjay Dutt, faced trial in the case.

The trial started in 1995 and concluded in 2003.

UNI XR SA VD KN1714