1993 blasts: 5 get jail terms for landing arms

Five persons convicted for their role in the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, including a former public servant, were on Wednesday sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 14 years rigorous imprisonment by the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court.

Tulshiram Dhondu Surve, employed as a watchman at the Wangani Microwave Tower, was sentenced to nine years' rigorous imprisonment and directed to pay a total fine of Rs 55,000 on the two counts of aiding and abetting a terrorist act and intentional omission of giving information of offence.

"Who were your real bosses? The government or the smugglers to whom you accorded such hospitality for a paltry amount of Rs 2,000?" Special TADA Judge P D Kode asked Surve, found guilty of allowing the use of government property on two occasions for transferring arms between two vehicles.

The "operational in-charges" of the arms and ammunition landing at the Dighi coast -- Uttam Potdar and Mohammed Lajpuria alias Mechanic Chacha -- were sentenced to 14 and 10 years' rigorous imprisonment respectively and directed to pay a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh each.

One hundred persons have been convicted by the TADA court for their involvement in engineering the serial blasts in Mumbai on March 12, 1993, killing 257 and over 700.

Kode held that the "main mind" in the landing was Potdar, as he negotiated with the police party at Dongar Phata and also facilitated the landing on behalf of one of the prime accused Mohammed Dossa, who is presently absconding.

The court observed both Potdar and Lajpuria were unaware of the material in the contraband till time of the landing operation and said that the latter even objected to helping in landing anything apart from silver.

Abdul Aziz Gharatkar, presently an 84-year-old, was sentenced to a prison term of six years and directed to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 for accompanying main landing agent Dawood Phanse to the port while landing explosives at Shekhadi prior to the blasts.

"Old persons usually go for morning walks, but this man had gone for a night walk on that night in 1993," the judge observed while sentencing Gharatkar.

Also sentenced on Wednesday was rickshaw driver Sajjad Alam who was awarded a prison term of seven years' rigorous imprisonment and directed to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 by the court.

Kode held that Alam had participated in the landing at Shekhadi and had taken the main accused to the coast in his autorickshaw and also transported the contraband in the same vehicle.

The special court has so far sentenced 22 of 100 persons convicted for their role in the serial blasts.