Two key witnesses in '93 blasts case fail to appear in court

Mumbai, Aug 1 (UNI) The two key witnesses of the prosecution in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case today failed to appear before the designated TADA court, following which the proceedings were adjourned till August 4.

The witnesses, identified as witness number seven and 11 as per the court record, hail from Gujarat. They were witness to the role played by extradited gangster Abu Salem and Dubai-deported accused Mustafa Dossa alias Mustafa Majunu in the serial bomb blasts, which rocked the metropolis on March 12, 1993, resulting in the death of 257 people and caused injury to 578 people.

Designated TADA Judge U D Mulla was today informed by the CBI that the witnesses were not present in the court room due to some unavoidable circumstances.

The court, while accepting the request, directed CBI to make sure that the witnesses depose on the next date and adjourned the proceedings.

According to the sources, one of the two witnesses had seen Abu Salem receiving the arms from Gujarat and had also heard him discussing about the distribution of the same with the other accused.

The witness in Dossa case was also of important nature, as he had witnessed the landing of arms and ammunitions in Porbunder, the coastal area of Gujarat, prior to the blasts.

According to the prosecution, despite being in Dubai, Dossa had actively participated in the landing of arms as these were sent to India under his instructions.

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