Mumbai, June16: A special court today exempted 85 accused in the 1993 bomb blast case from appearance till June 22 even as a top CBI officer stepped into the witness box to tender evidence on the alleged role played by co-accused Ejaz Pathan in the conspiracy hatched by Dawood Ibrahim to create a series of explosions in the city ten years ago. The court had earlier exempted actor Sanjay Dutt from appearance till June end and allowed him to go abroad to perform stage shows. He is also an accused in this case.
Eighty-five accused appeared before designated judge P D Kode in response to the summons issued by the court. About 30 accused, lodged in central prison, were also produced before the court of designated judge P D Kode.
O P Chhatwal, Superintendent of Police, today deposed before the court on Pathan's role in the blasts. Chhatwal, the chief investigating officer, had recorded his confession.
The court had last week reserved its order on joining co-accused Majnu Mustaffa in the trial. He was deported recently from Dubai and arrested at a stage when the trial in the main case has reached its fag end. In case of Majnu, a legal issue has cropped up because his name does not figure in the list of accused or absconding accused filed by CBI in the court. His involvement figured in the confession of co-accused.
Altogether 684 witnesses have deposed so far in the trial that commenced in 1995. About 13,000 pages have been recorded as evidence. Bureau Report