1993 Surat blasts: Ex-Minister Surti gets 20 yrs

Surat, Oct 4: Former Gujarat Minister Mohammed Surti, of the Congress party, was on Saturday, Oct 4 convicted and sentenced to 20 years in jail for his involvement in the 1993 Surat blasts case. The Minister was found guilty by the special TADA court along with 11 others for their alleged involvement in the April 1993 grenade blast at Surat Railway Station and another blast near Sadhna School in Varacha area.

Four other convicts have also been handed jail terms of 20 years each. The quantum of punishment for seven other convicts will be announced soon. So far, all the accused were on bail.

A total of 38 persons were injured in the the blast at railway station aimed at the Gujarat Express stationed there. In the second blast, a schoolgirl was killed and several others injured.

The grenade blast had rocked Gujarat"s commercial capital a month after the deadly Mumbai serial blasts in March. According to Police, a part of the arms cache smuggled into Mumbai was diverted to Surat to cause communal tension following the serial blasts in the financial capital.

"Surti had procured hand grenades from the late Ahmedabad don Abdul Latif for the bombings," the court said. His son Farooque Surti is also wanted in the case.

OneIndia News