Court convicts 43; acquits 15 in one month

Mumbai, Oct 12 (UNI) One month after the designated TADA court started delivering verdict in the 1993 serial Mumbai blasts case, it has so far convicted 43 accused and acquitted 15.

Besides 123 accused, including Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who faced the eight-year trial from 1995 to 2003, 30 accused are absconding, including the masterminds - Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon. Riyaz Khatri had jumped bail in September, 1996. Eleven accused, including Abdul Razzaq Memon ( Tiger Memon's father), had died during the trial.

Among the 43 convicts are four members of the Memon family, while 15 acquitted include three members of the family.

Trial of two gangsters - Abu Salem and Mustafa Dossa - had been seperated. Salem was extradited from Portugal in November last year, while Dossa was extradited from Dubai two years ago.

Two accused - Abu Azmi, a MP , and Amjad Meharbaksh were discharged by the Supreme Court after the trial began here in the TADA court. The designated court discharged 26 accused in April, 1995, and Javed Tailor in 2001.

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