Four convicted accused plead for leniency

Mumbai, Nov 16 (UNI) Four associates of prime absconding accused Tiger Memon, convicted by the TADA court for their involvement in the serial blasts which rocked the metropolis on March 12, 1993, today urged the Court here to award them lesser punishment, when the court decides their quantum of punishment shortly.

Tiger Memon's girlfriend Mobina Baya pleaded before Special TADA Judge P D Kode that she was a married woman with two minor children and the only caretaker of the entire family. She said she had lost both her parents and her in-laws. Considering the circumstances, she asked the court to be lenient while awarding punishment.

The convicted driver of Tiger Memon, Rafique Madi said he had nothing to do with the criminal activities of Memon and was only obeying the directions of Memon as an employee. Rafique said he was not aware who was sitting in the car and what goods he was transporting and said he was the only earning member of his three-member family consisting of wife and two kids.

Ahmed Shah alias Salim Durrani, another close associate of Memon and convicted blasts accused, hailing from the Nawab family of Tonk district in Rajasthan, said he was falsely implicated in the case and was not aware of the conspiracy of the blasts. Durrani said his father was a retired District Sessions Judge and brothers had retired as Major and Captain respectively from the Army and pleaded for mercy.

Similarly, another Tiger Memon associate Aziz Shaikh said he was a marine engineer and had visited Dubai in 1993 on a business trip and was falsely implicated in the case. He too, like other accused, said he was the only earning member in the family and if convicted his family would suffer. Therefore, he be given lesser punishment.

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