Court to decide Sanjay Dutt's fate tomorrow

Mumbai, Nov 27 (UNI) Bollywood and fans of 'Munnabhai' are on tenterhooks as the special TADA court, which is in the midst of pronouncing its verdict on the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, today directed Sanjay Dutt to remain present before it tomorrow.

Presiding Judge of the TADA court, Special Judge P D Kode, during the day, pronounced Dutt's associate Mansoor Ahmed guilty of destroying evidence by carrying an AK-56 rifle and it's cartridges out of the actor's house on the directions of underworld don Abu Salem.

Mr O P Chatwal, a high-ranking CBI official who had headed the investigation into the Mumbai blasts, told mediapersons that after Mansoor's conviction, it is now established beyond any doubt that Dutt was indeed in possession of a deadly weapon in a notified area like Mumbai.

This weapon was a part of that consignment which was smuggled into the country by prime absconding accused Tiger Memon and others for committing one of the biggest acts of terror in the history of the metropolis, he explained.

He also noted that the court had accepted the confessional statements of Mansoor as a vital piece of evidence. In the confessional statement, the accused has clearly indicated the involvement of the actor in the crime.

Meanwhile, Dutt's lawyers Satish Maneshinde and Farhana Shah, who were present in the court, refused to say much on today's developments.

''Lets see what will happen tomorrow. The actor has been called tomorrow by the court, now we can only wish him good luck,'' Farhana sighed.

So far the court has decided the fate of 109 blast accused, in which 86 were pronounced guilty and 23 acquitted.

The court is yet to decide the fate of 14 accused, which include Sanjay Dutt, dismissed customs collector S M Thapa and few others.

UNI XR WD/PM YA DS1620