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3 accused convicted in Mumbai blasts case

CNN-IBN, New Delhi
Six years after the twin blasts at Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar, which left 53 people dead, a Mumbai Special Court convicted the three accused under Pota yesterday.
The three accused are. Mohammed Hanif Sayed, his wife Fahimida and Ashrat Shafique Ansari.
Minutes after the verdict, public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said, "It's a big blow to Lashakr-e-Toiba with the three accused being con victed. They have been con-victed under Pota section 3(5). We heard from the witness that the conspiracy of the blasts was hatched in Dubai by the accused along with some Pakistan nationals."
"They planned to put a bomb in a BEST bus on December 2, 2002 but it did not go off. They then put a bomb again in a BEST bus in July 2003 and two people were killed in the explosion. But their commanders allegedly told them to plan high-intensity blasts. That's how Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar blasts happened. It's the first case where a family -husband, wife and their daughter - were involved in the attack," Nikam added.
While court has not pronounced the grounds of conviction, it is likely the charges include criminal conspiracy, murder and damage to public property. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on August 4.
A terror module of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (l e i) outfit was allegedly involved in planting the powerful bombs in two cabs and triggering them by timers on August 25, 2003.
It was one of the most awaited judgement in a terrorist case after the Special Tada Court completed the March 2. 1993, serial blasts trial in 2007 which led to the conviction of 100 people, including Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, now a Samajwadi Party leader.
History of the case
Soon after the twin blasts, Mumbai police arrested six people including one woman.
The accused were Mohammed Hanif Sayed, his wife Fahimida, Ashrat Shafique Ansari, Zahid Yusuf Patni, Rizwan Laddoowala and A Shaikh Batterywala.
Sayed's daughter Farheen was also arrested but was then let off almost immediately by the Pota court for lack of evidence.
The chargesheet filed on February 5, 2004 accuses them of conspiring with the Lashkar-e-Toiba to carry out terror strikes in the country. Police found that the conspiracy was hatched in Dubai and the motive was allegedly to avenge the 2002 Gujarat riots.
One of the accused, Zahid Yusuf Patni turned approver in June 2004 and confessed to his role in the attacks. He revealed how he lived and worked in Dubai where he met Hanif, who had gone there to work as an electrician. There they met some
other persons who provoked them "to take revenge for the Gujarat riots of 2002".
After hatching the blasts conspiracy in Dubai, they prepared themselves for the assignment with all the required resources and finally carried out the terror strikes in Mumbai.
In 2008, Laddoowala and Batterywala were let off for lack of evidence. I he matter was challenged before the Supreme Court, which finally ordered their discharge in November 2008, proving a setback to the prosecution case, spear-headed by Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
A total of 103 witnesses were examined, prime among them a taxi driver whose vehicle was used to plant the bomb.
Three Special Pota Judges conducted the trial AP Bhangale, SS Joshi and cur-rently, Special Judge Puranik.