1993 Mumbai blasts verdict

On 16 June 2017, terrorists Abu Salem and Mustafa Dossa, the key accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case that killed 257 people and left 713 seriously injured, were both convicted. Salem has been found guilty of conspiracy and terror activities by a special court. The convictions came as part of a judgement in the second leg of the trial in the ongoing case on the blasts. The seven who stood accused were tried by a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court in Mumbai.

The sentences will be declared on Monday. The court also convicted Mohammed Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Takla, Karimullah Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui and Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan. Abdul Qayyum has been acquitted in the case. A number of others accused in the case include India's most wanted terrorist, Dawood Ibrahim. Salem was extradited from Portugal in 2005 and Dossa was extradited from the UAE.

1993 Bombay bombings

A series of 12 bomb explosions took place in Mumbai (then named Bombay) on 12 March 1993. The coordinated attacks were reportedly carried out as response to Hindu-Muslim riots that had taken place in the city in 1992. It was the most destructive bomb explosions in Indian history. It was also the first-of-its kind serial bomb blasts that took place across the world. The single-day attacks resulted in 257 fatalities and 717 injuries.Thirteen blasts were announced by the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Sharad Pawar was asked to prevent the events from taking on a communal hue.

The attacks were coordinated by Dawood Ibrahim, the don of the Mumbai-based international organized crime syndicate named D-Company. Ibrahim is believed coordinated the bombings through his subordinates Tiger Memon and Yakub Memon.

The prime targeted locations of these blasts included the Air India Building, Bombay Stock Exchange, Zaveri Bazar, then existing five star hotels, Hotel SeaRock and Hotel Juhu Centaur, and others, leading to massive damage of public and private properties.

Abu Salem

He is a gangster originally from Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, India. He started out as a manual labourer before joining organized criminal syndicate, the D-Company. He was involved in several murder, extortion and other cases. He was accused of transporting weapons from Gujarat to Mumbai, and was arrested in Portugal in 2002. He was also responsible for giving weapons to actor Sanjay Dutt, who was accused in the case for the illegal possession of an AK-56 rifle, 250 bullets and some hand grenades at his residence on January 16, 1993.

Analysis

The 1993 attack was the first ever terrorist attack in the world where RDX (Research Department Explosive ie cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine) was used on such a large scale after the Second World War.The objective of the crime was to commit terrorist acts with an intent to overawe the Government of India, to strike terror to the people, alienate section of the people and to harm the communal harmony.

Though the hearing in the case began in 2007, it was delayed as three petitions were pending with the Supreme Court, one each filed by Dossa and Salem, and another by CBI. The trial resumed in 2012 and concluded this March.

The case (involving the seven accused) was first presided by Judge Pramod Kode, who had also delivered the judgment in the first leg of the trial and convicted 100 accused and acquitted 23 in 2007.

It was during the trial in 2013 that the Supreme Court pronounced a judgment on the appeals filed by all of the accused wherein key conspirator Yakub Memon's death sentence was confirmed, while that of others were commuted to life imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, Mustafa Dossa, Tiger Memon and Chhota Shakeel organized the training camps in Pakistan and in India to impart and undergo weapon and arms training and handling of explosives. They also sent men from India to Pakistan via Dubai for arms training.

Assessment

It took a total of 24 years for the accused in question to be convicted of their crimes. Hence, there ought to be a more efficient judicial process in place that is able to ensure justice in a more timely manner.