Mumbai: Court rejects bail pleas of two absconding accused in 1993 bomb blasts case | Mumbai News

Mumbai: A special court on Friday rejected the bail pleas of two long-absconding accused being tried in the third phase of the 1993 Bombay serial bomb blasts case. The judge cited the gravity of the crime, the alleged involvement of the accused, and the fact they were absconding for 27 years. While Munaf Abdul Majid Halari is accused of providing crucial logistical support for the coordinated terrorist attack that rocked the city of Bombay on March 12, 1993, claiming 257 lives and injuring 713 others, Mohd Shoeb Qureshi is alleged to be one of the principal conspirators. He was part of the meetings in Dubai, allegedly headed by prime accused Dawood Ibrahim, and subsequently went to Pakistan for arms training to “avenge the demolition of the Babri Masjid.”Special Public Prosecutor Deepak Salvi opposed the bail applications vehemently. It was submitted that Halari was “deeply involved in the conspiracy” and had allegedly purchased and arranged three brand-new scooters that were used to plant RDX explosives at various blast sites, including Zaveri Bazar. The court order noted that while two of the explosive-laden scooters were successfully defused by the police, the third, parked at Zaveri Bazar, exploded, killing 17 people.Halari’s lawyers submitted that he was falsely implicated, spent over five years in jail, and that the protracted trial was infringing on his fundamental rights. They highlighted that only 16 witnesses were examined since charges were framed in February 2023, submitting that the trial would take an indefinite period to conclude.The court, however, focused heavily on Halari’s past. He was among 44 individuals initially named as absconders in the case. After being on the run for nearly three decades, an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against him. Halari was finally arrested on January 6, 2020, by the ATS Gujarat in connection with a separate NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act case. He was later taken into custody by the CBI/STF for his alleged role in the 1993 blasts.“Looking at the gravity and seriousness of the crime, the role attributed to the applicant, and the fact that he was absconding for the last 27–28 years, no case is made out for releasing him on bail,” Special Judge VD said in Halari’s order. The judge also refuted the argument for parity based on the time spent in custody, citing the seriousness of the offence and the existing evidence.In Qureshi’s plea, his lawyer argued that he was innocent, was not named in the initial FIRs, and that the only material against him consisted of allegedly inadmissible confessions from co-accused who were tried separately. The defence claimed the only role attributed to Qureshi was attending a meeting in Dubai and travelling to Pakistan for arms training, not involvement in the larger bombing conspiracy. The prosecution opposed the plea and said that Qureshi is one of the principal conspirators and was part of the meetings in Dubai, allegedly headed by prime accused Dawood Ibrahim, and subsequently went to Pakistan for arms training to “avenge the demolition of the Babri Masjid.“The court noted that Qureshi was absconding for nearly 28 years and is facing a separate trial in Gujarat under the IPC and the Passports Act.