A special court yesterday framed charges against Ejaz Pathan, one of the prime accused in the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts case, and took on record the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation against co-accused Mustafa Ahmed Dossa alias Majnu Mustafa.
Both were deported from Dubai in March this year and arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. They have been charged with various offences, including conspiracy to set off a series of blasts in Mumbai on March 12, 1993, in connivance with Pakistan-based gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
Ejaz Mohammed Sharif alias Ejaz Pathan pleaded not guilty to the five charges framed against him by Designated Judge P D Kode.
The CBI has charged him with participating in the conspiracy between December 1992 and March 1993 in Dubai and India. He allegedly attended a meeting in Dubai at the residence of prime accused Dawood Ibrahim to commit terrorist acts in India to avenge the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya and the riots that followed.
The CBI has charged Pathan with sending his men Manoj Kumar Banwarilal Gupta alias Munna, Ehtesham, Shahnawaz Khan, Akbar Abu Sama Khan, and Karimullah, who is absconding, to smuggle arms through the Shekhadi coast of nearby Raigad district in the first week of February 1993.
Additionally, Pathan has been charged with sending his men to Pakistan via Dubai for arms training at the instance of co-conspirator Mushtaq 'Tiger' Memon. These men were Shaikh Mohammed Ehtesham, Haji Ghulam Rasool Shaikh, Sultan-e-Rome, Sardar Ali Gul, and Shahnawaz Khan Faiz Mohammed Khan.
Ejaz is also charged with receiving a bag containing three AK-56 rifles and nine magazines of the assault rifles from co-conspirator 'Tiger' Memon and unauthorisedly possessing these arms in notified area under TADA. He is also charged with giving these weapons to Dawood Mohammed Yusuf Khan for distributing them to others.
The CBI also filed a supplementary charge sheet against Majnu Mustafa, brother of prime conspirator Mohammed Dossa, who is also absconding. The agency alleged that Mustafa was deeply involved in the conspiracy and had attended a meeting in Dubai at the house of main conspirator Dawood Ibrahim.
Mustafa is also charged with sending his men to the Dighi coast in Raigad district on January 9, 1993, to land arms and ammunition used in the serial explosions.
In February 1993, some of the accused went to Pakistan via Dubai for arms training and stayed with Mustafa in the Gulf. Mustafa also took them to Dawood Ibrahim, the CBI alleged.
Mustafa is also charged with making travel arrangements for the departure of co-accused Ahmed Lambu, Sayyed Qureshi, Yusuf Batka, Abu Baker, and Shoeb Baba to Pakistan for arms training.
Mustafa's alleged involvement in the conspiracy came to light during investigations in 1995, but he was absconding then. A non-bailable warrant was issued by the court at the time. Later, he was declared a 'proclaimed offender' and his properties were attached.
Mustafa was arrested on March 20 at the international airport in Mumbai after he was deported from Dubai.
The CBI has so far filed 27 supplementary charge sheets against various accused persons in the bomb blasts case. In all, 122 accused persons are facing trial. Of them, 86, including Hindi film actor Sanjay Dutt, are on bail.
PTI