Monday, October 16, 2006

The TADA court in Mumbai held four accused guilty of assisting Tiger Memon in smuggling arms and RDX that were used in the serial blasts. Four others were acquitted for want of evidence. Muzamil Umar Kadri, Khalil Ahmed Sayyed Nazir and Gulam Hafeez Shaikh were convicted of helping land RDX on the Shekhadi coast in February 1993, and also for tranporting weapons and possessing illegal arms.

Tulsiram Dhondu Surve, watchman of high security Wangani microwave tower in Raigad district, was found guilty of allowing Tiger’s men to use government property for the purpose of loading arms into vehicles which then transported them to Mumbai. CBI investigations also revealed that Surve had concealed 59 bags of explosives in his field, before handing them over to the bombers. The watchman was convicted under Section 202 of the Indian Penal Code for “not informing authorities of the smuggling of arms and explosives despite having knowledge of the activities.”

Judge Kode, however, acquitted Anant Bhoir, who had allowed his dumper to be used for disposing of RDX in the Nagla Bunder Creek. The court said that Bhoir had not been aware that the sacks contained explosive material. The court also ruled that Bhoir and his co-accused’s confessions were inadmissible since they “appear to have been taken under duress.”