Salem and Dutt to face separate trials

Mumbai: A designated TADA court on Tuesday rejected gangster Abu Salem's charge that conditions for his extradition to India for trial were violated.

The court ordered that his trial would be separated from that of 123 accused, including actor Sanjay Dutt, in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast case.

The order was delivered by designated judge P D Kode who rejected Salem's petition urging for a joint trial with Dutt and the other accused.

The court said Salem had been correctly charged with participating in the conspiracy to create bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993 and transporting as well as distributing arms and ammunition to the co-accused, including Dutt, prior to the serial explosions.

The judge also held that in future if any absconding accused in the case was arrested or extradited from a foreign country, his trial would be separated.

The judge also said he would decide on July three, the date of the judgement in the bomb blast case.

Outside the court, CBI prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the court's order separating Salem's trial from Dutt's case would not have any impact or bearing on the actor's defence.

He said CBI had sufficient evidence against Dutt and corroborative evidence against Salem.

Opposing the CBI stand to separate Salem's trial, defence lawyers Niteen Pradhan and Farhana Shah said if Salem is not tried jointly with others then prejudice may be caused to him and the co-accused.

Seeking an early verdict on the bomb blast case, CBI had urged the court to separate the trial of Salem on the grounds that the judgement had been delayed considerably. The trial had commenced in 1995 and the judgement was yet to be delivered.

Sanjay Dutt is facing the charge of possessing AK-56 rifle and later destroying it with the help of his friends.

The actor has denied the allegation and witnesses have also not supported the prosecution.

The prosecution has said some accused, including Salem, had gone to Dutt's residence and handed over an AK-56 rifle, prior to the serial blasts.

Altogether, 257 people were killed and 713 injured when a series of bomb blasts shattered 13 places in Mumbai, damaging property worth Rs 27 crore on March 12, 1993.