MUMBAI: Abdul Gani Ismail Turk was on Tuesday convicted by the designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court for the bomb blast here on March 12, 1993, in which 113 people were killed and 227 injured.

Designated TADA Judge P.D. Kode said Turk had been charged with participating in the Shekhadi landings of RDX, attending meetings to plan the blasts, taking part in arms training at Sandheri and Borghat, and loading RDX on various vehicles on the night of March 11, 1993 along with other accused. Of these, he was found guilty of participating in the Shekhadi landings and loading RDX on the vehicles, but it could not be established whether he attended the meetings to plan the blasts or underwent arms training.

Turk, who worked for Tiger Memon, drove the jeep with explosives from the Al Husseini building and parked it in front of the Udipi hotel at Century Bazaar, not far from the Passport Office, on March 12. Apart from the casualties, the explosion caused damage to property to the tune of Rs. 2.41 crore.

Single eyewitness

The prosecution relied on a single eyewitness to establish Turk's guilt, and Mr. Kode said this evidence was unimpeachable. One of Turk's confessions was taken on record, while another was discarded by the court "for not having been recorded properly."

Apart from being held guilty on two counts under Section 3 (3) of TADA, Turk was also held guilty under Section 3 (2) (i) of TADA, where the punishment is death or life sentence. He was also convicted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for murder, attempt to murder, causing grievous hurt, and damage to property, and also under the Explosive Substances act, the Explosives Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984. Turk, arrested on March 18, 1993, was also held guilty of criminal conspiracy under Section 120 b of the IPC.

The court also heard statements from Asgar Mukadam and Shahnawaz Qureshi, convicted on Monday for the blast at Plaza cinema. They pleaded with the judge for mercy, saying they were not terrorists.

Mukadam said he was 31 years old when arrested on March 19, 1993, and had been in jail since then. He was traumatised by the riots that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Qureshi said in the riots following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, his house was burnt, and he lost everything.

A few months later, his house was burnt again. Some people took advantage of his sentiments and sent him to Dubai on the pretext of work. From there, he was taken on a plane to some place, and was told that it was Pakistan.

He returned after four or five days. In such a short time, he could not have been trained to use weapons, he said.

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