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Man found guilty of Mumbai blasts | Man found guilty of Mumbai blasts |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A court in India's western city of Mumbai (Bombay) has found a man guilty of planting one of the bombs in a series of attacks in the city in 1993. | |
Mohammed Ghansar placed explosives in a scooter near a market, the judge ruled. The blast killed 17 people. Ghansar could now face the death penalty. | |
He is among 123 defendants facing trial over 12 blasts that killed 257 people. | |
The attacks were allegedly ordered by the Muslim-dominated underworld in retaliation for Hindu-Muslim riots. | |
Ghansar had been charged on 14 counts. He was convicted in connection with the attack on the crowded Zaveri Bazaar. | |
The charge that he helped carry ammunition and facilitated the escape from India of one of the main defendants, Tiger Memon, was rejected. | The charge that he helped carry ammunition and facilitated the escape from India of one of the main defendants, Tiger Memon, was rejected. |
Hundreds of witnesses | Hundreds of witnesses |
On Tuesday the court convicted four members of the Memon family over their roles in the blasts, which left more than 700 people wounded. | |
Verdicts are being announced in stages over the next few weeks and sentences have yet to be passed. | |
1993 MUMBAI BLASTS 12 blasts257 dead713 injured123 arrested and tried686 witnesses testify35,000 pages of evidence submitted13 years to reach verdict Profile: Fugitive gangster | |
The man thought to have masterminded of the plot, underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, has still not been caught. | |
India says he and Tiger Memon are hiding in Pakistan, a charge Pakistan has denied. | |
Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt is also among the accused. | Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt is also among the accused. |
Dutt was arrested 13 years ago on terrorism charges and spent nearly two years in jail before the Supreme Court ordered his release on bail. | |
The BBC's Zubair Ahmed in Mumbai says there have been few trials in India's legal history to match this one. | The BBC's Zubair Ahmed in Mumbai says there have been few trials in India's legal history to match this one. |
Evidence has been taken from more than 600 witnesses. | |
The bombings are believed to have been carried out by one of the city's notorious underworld crime syndicates, which were then dominated by Muslims. | The bombings are believed to have been carried out by one of the city's notorious underworld crime syndicates, which were then dominated by Muslims. |
Their motive is said to have been revenge for religious riots that left more than 2,000 people dead across India, most of them Muslims. | |
Most of the accused have been languishing in jail for the past 13 years. Lawyers have criticised the length of the trial. | Most of the accused have been languishing in jail for the past 13 years. Lawyers have criticised the length of the trial. |
The case has taken so long that 12 of the accused have died and others have been imprisoned for so much longer than their likely sentence that a guilty verdict may still result in them walking free. | The case has taken so long that 12 of the accused have died and others have been imprisoned for so much longer than their likely sentence that a guilty verdict may still result in them walking free. |