The special TADA court, conducting the trial in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings case, on Monday completed the recording of statements of eight other accused, including Abu Salem and Mustafa Dossa.
The trial of underworld don Abu Salem, and prime accused Mohammed Dossa’s brother Mustafa Dossa was separated from the trial of the first 123 accused which include Yakub Memon and family, the bomb planters, and actor Sanjay Dutt. One hundred of the accused were convicted and sentenced by judge P.D. Kode presiding over the trial held at the high security Arthur Road jail in 2007.
Special judge G.A. Sanap, who is presiding over the separated trial of accused arrested or deported later, on Monday completed the ongoing recording of statements under Section 313 of Criminal Procedure Code.
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Under the section, an accused is given an opportunity to personally explain the circumstances appearing in the evidence against him or her.
The statements of Abu Salem, Riyaz Siddiqui, Karimullah Khan, Feroze Abdul Rashid, Tahir Merchant, Mustafa Dossa, Riyaz Siddiqui and Abdul Quayyum facing trial in the case were recorded.
In his statement, Salem, who was extradited to India from Portugal in November 2005, claimed that he was innocent and had been falsely implicated. He said witnesses deposed against him under pressure from the CBI and told the court that he would like 67 witnesses to be examined in court.
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The witness examination will take place after Salem, who will be taken to New Delhi on Tuesday in connection with a court appearance in another case, returns to Mumbai. Salem faces the charge that he had delivered a cache of AK-56 rifles to actor Sanjay Dutt at his Bandra residence.
The development comes after the execution of Yakub Memon on July 30 after his mercy petitions were rejected, and the Supreme Court rejected a plea to stay the death warrant.