Mumbai blasts: Court orders police to provide security to approver

A sessions court on Wednesday directed the Mumbai police to provide adequate security to an approver in the 1993 serial bomb blast case and his family members.

Sessions court judge VD Kedar stated the man was a star prosecution witness and prime approver and the trial in the case of the belated arrest of seven persons is slated to commence soon.

"In the said trial, the evidence of the applicant may be required for cross-examination at the hands of accused persons. Thus, looking at the above facts and circumstances of the case, I am of the view that the applicant and his family members need to be provided sufficient security," the court said.

The court directed the police to provide sufficient security to the applicant and his family members as contemplated under the Witness Protection and Security Act as early as possible.

The court ordered a compliance report to be submitted within two weeks.

The man had filed an application seeking to beef up police protection provided to him expressing apprehension of threat to his and his family's life.

The man was initially arraigned as an accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case but was later granted pardon and was declared as an approver.

Thereafter he deposed as a prosecution witness and claimed to have played a crucial and vital role in not only providing minute details of the perpetrators of the crime to the investigating agency in carrying out a full-fledged and thorough investigation but also in identifying the accused persons during the trial, which has resulted in conviction of several accused.

The man sought security for him and his family members under the Witness Protection and Security Act claiming he incurred the wrath of his own Muslim community as well as the high-profile accused.

He fears for his own and his family's safety, the application said.

The man said he was initially given 25 police personnel as protection but this cover was later reduced to one. He has sought the CBI to provide at least five police personnel for his protection.

The man claimed that he had made several requests to the CBI but to no avail.

The police told the court that in March 2024 it was ordered by the city police commissioner to provide 3 police personnel from the Protection branch and four personnel from another division to the man.

The applicant's case of seeking more security will be considered at a later stage, the police had said.

On March 12, 1993 twelve bombs went off at different locations in Mumbai killing 257 persons and injuring more than 700 others.

A total of 123 persons were arrested and many more were shown as absconding accused in the case.

A special court had convicted 100 of these accused.

Some of the absconding accused were arrested later and the trial against them was to be held separately.