Sanjay Dutt held guilty under Arms Act, but is not a Terrorist
Ninety-four of the accused are on bail while 29 in custody had been summoned to the court for the judgment. The ruling comes more than 13 years after March 13, 1993 when a series of 13 explosions ripped through the city, killing 257 people and injuring 713. Court proceedings began Thursday morning with the designated judge of the TADA court P.D. Kode saying that he would commence delivery of the judgment. Defence lawyer Farhana Shah, however, objected, saying that Abu Salem had moved the High Court, challenging the order of the TADA court separating his trial from the other accused. However, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam countered the argument, pointing out that since the High Court had not granted any stay on the matter, the court was free to proceed with the delivery of judgment. The judge said he would pronounce
the final verdict in the case on September 12.
The bombings
Three hotels, the Hotel Sea Rock, Hotel Juhu Centaur, and Hotel Airport Centaur, were targeted by suitcase bombs left in rooms booked by the perpetrators. Banks, the regional passport office, hotels, an airline office (the Air India Building), and a major shopping complex were also hit. Bombs exploded at Zaveri Bazar, Century Bazar, Katha Bazar, Shiv Sena Bhawan, and Plaza Theatre. A jeep-bomb at the Century Bazar exploded early, thwarting another attack. Grenades were also thrown at Sahar International Airport and at Fishermen's Colony, apparently targeting Hindus at the latter. A double decker bus was very badly damaged in one of the explosions and that single incident accounted for the greatest loss of life - perhaps up to ninety people were killed. The official number of dead was 257 dead with 1,400 others injured (some news sources say 317 people died; this is due to a bomb which killed 60 in Calcutta on March 17). Several days later, unexploded car bombs were discovered at a railway station. Islamic terrorist groups based in Pakistan were suspected to be responsible for these bombings, and evidence uncovered pointed to the involvement of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Many hundreds of people, predominantly Muslim, have been arrested and detained in Indian courts and are undergoing or awaiting trial. So far, no convictions have resulted twelve years after the blasts More than ten years later, on August 25, 2003, two large bombs left
in taxis exploded in south Mumbai - the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar
in the busy Kalbadevi area - killing 52 people and wounding more than a
hundred others. India blamed two Islamic militant groups, Jaish-e-Mohammed
or Lashkar-e-Toiba, for the attacks. This is believed by some to be a response
for the 2002 Gujarat riots, which left more than 2,000 dead, mainly Muslims.
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