By IANS
Mumbai : A special anti-terror court Wednesday sentenced three Mumbai serial blasts convicts to death – the first capital punishment given after the 1993 terror attack that killed 257 people.
Parvez Nasir Sheikh, who was the first to be given capital punishment by the anti-terror court, was found guilty on three counts – criminal conspiracy, act of terrorism and murder.
Mushtaq Mussa Tarani and Abdul Gani Ismail Turk are the two others.
However, Judge Pramod Kode of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court said the death sentence would be subject to approval by the Supreme Court.
He said: "Turk, a former employee of absconding prime accused Tiger Memon, had placed a jeep laden with RDX in front of an udupi restaurant at the Century Bazaar in central Mumbai's Worli. The blast caused the maximum fatalities killing 113 people and injuring another 227 people."
Dismissing Turk's plea that he was convinced by Tiger Memon to take revenge for the humiliation of the Muslim community in the aftermath of the December 1992 Babri Masjid demolition and the subsequent communal violence in Mumbai, the court said: "There was no evidence that the convict had been directly affected by the riots or the Babri masjid demolition. These acts of terror to avenge the humiliation are not justified.
"These acts of committing terror are disgrace to the Muslim religion. These acts were unnecessary and were caused to bring disturbance among different communities in the country," it observed.
"Not only was Turk a close associate of absconding prime accused Tiger Memon, he was a coveted member of the conspiracy right from the beginning to the very last."
The 51-year-old Turk, attired in a spotless white pathan suit, looked composed while hearing out his sentence.
Turk was sentenced to death on three counts for criminal conspiracy under Section 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(3) of the TADA action for act of terrorism and murder along with various sections of the Explosive Substance Act and Explosive Act.
The court also asked him to pay a fine of Rs.175,000.
Sentencing Sheikh, the court said he was found guilty of planting a RDX-laden scooter at the busy Katha Bazaar in south-central Mumbai that killed four people and injuring 21.
"Besides Sheikh was also found guilty of planting a bomb in the Room No. 840 of the Sea Rock Hotel in western suburban Bandra. Though the bomb exploded, by the grace of god no one was injured. But property worth millions of rupees were destroyed.
"Sheikh is being sentenced to death on three counts including criminal conspiracy, terrorist act and murder," the judge said.
Sheikh has been asked to pay a fine of Rs.525,000 under various sections of IPC, TADA, Explosive Substances Act and Explosive Act.
An unshaven Sheikh, 41, kept silently murmuring prayers while the sentence was being delivered.
Tarani was given the capital punishment for planting an RDX-laden vehicle at the Sheikh Memon Street in south Mumbai's gold and gem trading hub of Zaveri Bazaar and also planting a suitcase full of explosives at the Centaur Hotel in Juhu.
"Tarani's crime is identical with that of Sheikh. Although the RDX-laden vehicle did not explode, it could have caused unimaginable loss of life and property. The bombs, planted at the Centaur Hotel, however did explode. Though there were no human casualties, property worth millions of rupees was destroyed," the judge said.
Tarani was given the death sentence on one count of conspiracy and was asked to pay a fine of Rs.387,500.
The special court has so far sentenced 81 of the 100 convicts.
Apart from three death sentences, 14 convicts have been given life sentences and others varying prison terms ranging from five year to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment.
Nineteen more convicts including four family members of Tiger Memon, 10 bomb planters, a former customs official and Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt are still awaiting their quantum of sentence.