1993 blasts: Hearing of final arguments against 7 accused begins

Mumbai: A special TADA court on Monday began hearing final arguments in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case against seven accused, including extradited gangster Abu Salem, facing trial for their alleged role.

"The court has started hearing the final arguments in the case from today," special public prosecutor Deepak Salvi said.

The seven accused -- Salem, Mustafa Dosa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Tahir Merchant and Abdul Quayyum -- are facing trial before Special Judge G A Sanap.

The special court in August had completed recording the statements of the accused under the provisions of section 313 of Code of Criminal Procedure, under which an accused is given an opportunity to personally explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence against him.

Later, the court recorded the statements of defence witnesses called by the accused.

Thirteen powerful blasts had rocked the metropolis on March 12, 1993, in which 257 people were killed, while 713 others were injured.

The TADA court in 2006 had convicted 100 accused in connection with the case. The trial of the seven accused was separated from the main trial as they were arrested at the time of conclusion of the trial.