1993 Mumbai blasts case: Dossa trial deferred till tomorrow

Mumbai, Apr 21 (UNI) The first witness in the separate trial of Mustafa Dossa alias Mustafa Majnu, an accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, could not depose before the designated TADA court here today, following which the trial has been deferred till tomorrow.

The CBI today informed the designated Judge P D Kode that the witness in the separate trial against extradited gangster Abu Salem and his two accomplices are expected to deposed tomorrow, hence the witness in Dossa trial may also be examined tomorrow, to which the court agreed and adjourned the hearing.

The witness, whose identity has been kept secret and given a code name 'prosecution witness number 1', is reportedly an Immigration officer, who was on duty at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here on March 20, 2003, when Dossa was deported from Dubai.

The witness in Salem's case is also a Immigration officer, who had cleared the immigration of the Don, while he was extradited from Portugal.

The witnesses, in both the cases, are expected to give details about Dossa and Salem's arrival here and shed light on handing over of his custody to the CBI after clearing his immigration.

Dossa, Salem and his two accomplices --Riyaz Siddiqui and Abdul Qaum Ansari--were arrested after the designated court had concluded its first phase of trial, when Judge P D Kode convicted 100 accused, including members of the Memon family, who had masterminded the blasts and Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt.

The final verdict in the blasts case is awaited, with the court separating the trial of the four accused from the other accused, who had faced the trial for fourteen years.

Earlier, during the trial of Salem and his accomplices, the first witness could not depose before the court as he was out of station.

Therefore, the court had deferred their trial till April 22.

Dossa, accused of actively participating in the blasts conspiracy, was also allegedly involved in the landing of weapons in Maharashtra's Raigad district, prior to the blasts on March 12, 1993, that left 257 people dead and 574 injured.

Salem is accused of delivering an AK-56 rifle at the residence of Dutt and various other weapons to other co-accused.

Siddiqui and Ansari are accused of delivering weapons at different places.

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