A Special Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court will on September 7 pronounce the quantum of sentence for underworld don Abu Salem and five others convicted in the part-two trial of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.
Of the six convicted by the TADA court on June 16 this year, notorious smuggler Mustafa Dossa alias Mustafa Majnu died of a massive heart attack at the State-run JJ Hospital on June 28.
The four other convicts in the case are, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Taklya.
The arguments on the quantum of sentences, which began immediately after the six accused were convicted, completed on August 10.
Of the six convicted, five were found guilty of charges framed against them for criminal conspiracy (120-B), murder, attempt to murder and other sections of the Indian Penal Code, relevant provisions of the TADA, Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and Destruction of Public Property Act. However, the court convicted Siddiqui for all offences, excepting the conspiracy charge which the Prosecution failed to prove against him.
The court acquitted the seventh accused in the case, Abdul Qayoom, for lack of evidence.
As many as 257 persons were killed and 713 others injured in the serial explosions that rocked the country’s commercial capital on March 12, 1993. Property worth Rs 27 crore was destroyed in the blasts.
Of the six accused convicted in the part-two trial of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, it is quite unlikely that Salem would be sentenced to death.
Salem was extradited to India along with his girl friend Monica Bedi on November 11, 2005, after a prolonged legal process in Portugal lasting three years.
During his arguments over the quantum of punishment to be handed to the six convicts, CBI counsel Deepak Salvi had said that though Salem deserved capital punishment, the court had restrictions in handing the key convict death sentence, because of the solemn sovereign assurances that India had given to and the extradition treaty and it had entered with Portugal. The provisions barred the Indian courts from handing out death sentence to Salem.