The special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court on Thursday held two customs officials and an aide of prime conspirator Tiger Memon, guilty of aiding and abetting the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.
Customs Inspector Jayvant Gurav and Customs Superintendent S S Talawadekar, who were posted in Srivardhan taluka of Raigad in January 1993, were found guilty of helping Dawood Ibrahim and other prime conspirators in allowing arms and RDX to land in Raigad despite having specific knowledge that such contraband was being smuggled by terrorists.
Gurav was also found guilty of piloting a customs jeep alongwith a van filled with RDX and arms to facilitate passage of contraband from Raigad to Mumbai.
He was also found guilty of allowing accused Uttam Poddar -- Tiger Memon's aide -- to drive a customs jeep while he himself sat beside Poddar.
Both Gurav and Talawadekar were found to have accepted bribe from conspirators to aid and abet the terrorist act.
For the first time customs officials have been convicted in the case.
Another accused, Ayub Ibrahim Qureshi, an aide of Tiger Memon, was held guilty of possessing a revolver in a notified area under TADA (P) act.
Judge P D Kode convicted him under Sections 3 (3) and 5 of TADA (P) Act as well as under Arms Act.
The court accepted Gurav's confession as well as that of co-accused and approver, in holding him guilty.
The court also accepted evidence of top customs officials indicating that the two officers, Gurav and Talawadekar, had specific information about smuggling of arms and RDX and yet they allowed contraband to land and reach Mumbai.
However, both the customs officials were acquitted of the charge of participating in the conspiracy.
As regards Talawadekar, the court held there was evidence to suggest he was present at Shekhadi coast when arms and RDX landed, though during the second landing at Dighi coast he was not present.
The material in Talawadekar's confession has been corroborated by other evidence, the judge held.
All the three accused were taken into custody and their bail bonds were cancelled after the verdict was announced.
Gurav said he was suffering from high blood pressure and piles, so the court allowed him to take medicines in jail.
With the conviction of these three, 58 of the total 123 accused have been pronounced guilty.
Serial blasts had ripped through Mumbai of March 12, 1993, killing 257 persons and injuring 713 others.
© 2024 Rediff.com -