A special designated TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities [Protection] Act) court here will pronounce the final judgment against seven persons, including gangster Abu Salem, for their involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, on June 16.
This was informed by the court presided by Justice G.A. Sanap on Monday.
The other accused are Mustafa Dossa, Karimullah Sheikh, Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Taklya, Abdul Qayyum, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, and Riyaz Siddiqui.
257 people were killed
On March 12, 1993, 12 bombs went off at several locations in the city, killing 257 people and injuring 713, while destroying property worth ₹27 crore.
A single chargesheet was filed against 129 persons, out of which 100 were convicted. In September 2006, 20 were awarded the life sentence, while a further 12 were awarded capital punishment. In 2013, 10 of the 12 who were awarded capital punishment, had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Abu Salem, extradited from Portugal, is accused of transporting and distributing arms and ammunition. Dossa, extradited from the United Arab Emirates, is facing charges of landing arms and explosives, conspiracy, and sending individuals to Pakistan for training.
Tahir Merchant arranged for the other convicts to travel to Pakistan, according to the chargesheet. Abdul Qayyum is charged with delivering weapons to actor Sanjay Dutt.
Riyaz Siddiqui is facing charges of transporting explosives in a van, which were later used in the blasts.
Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan was allegedly present when arms and ammunition were transported to Mumbai.
Karimullah Sheikh is charged with smuggling arms into the country through the Shekhadi coast of Raigad district.
