1993 Mumbai blasts: Charges framed against two accused

Farooq Mansoor alias Farooq Takla and Ahmed Shaikh alias Lambu were arrested in 2018.

mumbai Updated: Feb 25, 2019 23:52 IST

On March 12, 1993, a series of 12 blasts in quick succession rocked Mumbai, killing 257 people and injuring 713 others(HT File)

A designated court under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1999 on Monday framed charges against Farooq Mansoor alias Farooq Takla and Ahmed Shaikh alias Lambu for their role in the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, paving way for their trial.

Mansoor was arrested from Dubai and brought back to India in March last year, whereas Shaikh was caught by the Gujarat anti-terrorism squad and handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in June 2018. Mansoor and Shaikh have been charged under various sections of TADA and IPC for allegedly participating in the larger conspiracy and its execution. Both the accused have pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution will now submit a list of documents they want to rely on and the witnesses they want to examine in order to prove the charges, after which the trial will begin.

Mansoor has been charged for aiding and abetting the conspiracy. According to the CBI, he arranged for the stay of the accused in Dubai in January 1993 and also made arrangements for their return to India after they completed arms training in Pakistan. He also instructed them to wear yellow caps so they can be easily identified.

The TADA court has charged Shaikh for participating in conspiracy meetings between January 1993 and in the first week of February 1993, where the plan for the blasts in March was chalked out. Further, he is also said to have attended arms training in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the accused have filed a plea to conduct the trial daily. The court has now directed the prosecution to file their say. Mansoor and Shaikh are the third set of accused arrested by CBI in connection with the case.

In the first phase, 125 accused were tried, of which 100, including key conspirator Yakub Memon, were convicted.

In the second phase, seven accused, including gangsters Abu Salem, Mustaffa Dossa, Firoz Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Karimullah Shaikh, Mohammad Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Taklya and Abdul Qayyum, faced trial.

First Published: Feb 25, 2019 23:52 IST