1993 Mumbai serial blasts case LIVE updates: TADA court sentences Abu Salem to life imprisonment

A special court in Mumbai announced the quantum of sentence against Abu Salem and four other convicts- Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan, Taher Merchant, Karimullah Khan and Riyaz Siddiqui- in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case on Thursday. While Abu Salem and Karimullah Khan were sentenced to life imprisonment, Feroz Khan and Tahir Merchant were given death sentence.
Riyaz Siddiqui was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The mastermind of the 1993 serial blasts which had killed 257 and injured 713 people, Mustafa Dossa had been convicted by the Court on June 16 this year. The case against Mustafa Dossa was closed because he died on June 28 while the sentencing arguments were going on in court. The CBI had claimed that the role of Dossa was “more severe” than Yakub Memon, who was hanged in July 2015 in the same case. The CBI had also claimed that Dossa, Merchant and Feroz, were “main conspirators”.
Abu Salem sentencing LIVE updates
1.26 pm: The court had said that Abu Salem’s ‘close proximity’ to main conspirators Anees Ibrahim and Mustafa Dossa, had led to him taking it upon himself to transport and conceal arms and ammunition in various places. The court had found Salem guilty of providings arms to actor Sanjay Dutt.
1.23 pm: “Feroz is not Hamza as claimed by him. He is the same Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan, who was declared a proclaimed offender in this case in 1993,” the court said. The court observed that Feroz was ‘a prominent member’ of the Dossa gang and was ‘actively involved’ in smuggling the arms and ammunition to India.

1.13 pm:



“Convicts will get set-off for the time they have served in jail,” Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam was quoted as saying by ANI.
1.11 pm: Salem and Karimullah were sentenced to concurrent life sentences on two separate counts each.
1.00 pm: The court orders Abu Salem and Karimullah Khan to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh. 
12.59 pm: Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan also sentenced to death. According to CBI, Feroz and Tahir were the main conspirators.
12.57 pm: Tahir Merchant gets death sentence. 
12.55 pm: Riyaz Siddiqui gets 10 years in prison. He had been found not guilty of conspiracy. 12.47 pm: TADA court sentences Abu Salem to life imprisonment after he had been found guilty of conspiracy and murder.
12.44 pm: Abu Salem to be sentenced next.
12.41 pm: Karimullah Khan sentenced to life imprisonment.
11.18 am: Abu Salem and four other convicts reach court for quantum of sentence hearing in 1993 blast case
11.10 am: The TADA court had earlier convicted all except Riyaz Siddiqui under charges including murder, criminal conspiracy and other sections of the Indian Penal Code, TADA Act, Explosive Substances Act, Explosives Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Siddiqui was convicted under Section 3 (3) of the TADA Act.
11.05 am: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought the death penalty for Feroz, Merchant and Karimullah, and life imprisonment for Salem and Siddiqui.
11.00 am: Abu Salem was extradited from Portugal in 2005 and under the extradition treaty with the European nation, death penalty cannot be awarded to him.