A special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court on Tuesday held three accused in the 1993 serial blasts case guilty on various counts, including helping prime conspirators Tiger Memon, Mohammad Dossa and Ijaz Pathan in perpetrating the crime.
However, the court acquitted two others for want of evidence.
Those held guilty on Tuesday were Sayyed Abdul Rehman Shaikh, a close lieutenant of Tiger, Manoj Bhanavarilal Gupta, main associate of Ijaz Pathan and Mohammed Kasam Lajpuria alias Mechanic Chacha, a right-hand man of Dossa.
Judge P D Kode acquitted Shakeel Shahabuddin Shaikh and Devdas Keshav Ghule as their involvement in the crime could not be established.
Sayyed Abdul Shaikh was found guilty of taking part in the conspiracy, in RDX landing operations at Shekhadi in Raigad and transporting the contraband to godowns of the co-accused Noor Mohammad and Mohammed Jindran.
The court accepted Sayyed's confession as well as those of the other accused implicating him.
Manoj Gupta was found guilty of taking part in landing operations at Shekhadi, possession of weapons and taking part in a conspiracy to dispose of 59 RDX bags at Nagla Bunder creek.
Gupta was acquitted of charges under Section 201 of the IPC (causing disappearance of evidence) because he himself did not dispose off the RDX.
He was also acquitted of the charge of taking part in the main conspiracy and obtaining weapons training in Sandheri and Bhorghat in Raigad. The court accepted his confession and those of others implicating him.
Judge P D Kode also found Mohammed Kasam Lajpuria guilty of taking part in landing operations in Dighi coast at the instance of Dossa, of meeting customs officials at Persian Durbar hotel in Panvel to bribe them and negotiating with police to allow smooth passage of the contraband to Mumbai.
He was also held guilty under the Arms Act. The court accepted his confession as well as those of the coaccused implicating him.
With Tuesday's convictions, the total numbers of those held guilty and acquitted in the case have reached 50 and 19, respectively.
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