Mumbai:
Twenty-four years after 12 coordinated blasts rocked Mumbai on March 12, 1993, claiming 257 lives and injuring over 700, a special TADA court here on Friday convicted six persons and acquitted one accused in the second leg of the trial in the case.
Following is the chronology of events in the case in which the main trial ended in 2007. The trial of seven accused in the case was separated, out of which six were held guilty on Friday.
* March 12, 1993: A series of 12 explosions rock Mumbai resulting in 257 fatalities and injuries to 713 others.
* April 19, 1993: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt (accused number 117) arrested.
* November 4, 1993: Over 10,000 page-long primary charge sheet filed against 189 accused, including Dutt.
* November 19, 1993: Case handed over to CBI.
* April 10, 1995: 26 accused discharged by the TADA court. Charges framed against the remaining accused.
Supreme Court discharges two more accused, travel agent Abu Asim Azmi (Samajwadi Party leader) and Amjed Meher Baux.
Read more: 1993 bomb blasts: Special TADA court convicts Abu Salem and 5 others
* April 19, 1995: First leg of trial commences.
* June 30, 1995: Two accused, Mohammed Jameel and Usman Jhankanan, turn approvers in the case.
* October 14, 1995: Dutt granted bail by SC.
* October 2000: Examination of 684 prosecution witnesses (in first leg of trial) ends.
* March 9-July 18, 2001: Accused record their statements.
*August 9, 2001 to August 22, 2002: Prosecution and defence arguments take place.
*September 18, 2002: Abu Salem detained in Lisbon, Portugal.
*March 20, 2003: Accused Mustafa Dossa arrested by CBI at IGI Airport, New Delhi on his arrival from Dubai.
* September 2003: Main trial ends. TADA court in Mumbai reserves judgement.
*January 9, 2004: Charges framed against Dossa.
*November 11, 2005: Salem extradited to India.
* December 9, 2005: Charges framed against Salem.
* June 13, 2006: Abu Salem's trial separated.
* August 10, 2006: Judge P D Kode says judgement will be pronounced on September 12.
* September 12, 2006: Court starts delivering the judgement, pronounces four members of the Memon family guilty, and acquits three. Later, 12 convicts were awarded death penalty while 20 were given life sentence. Other convicts were handed over different sentences.
*February 2007: Main trial concludes. Second leg involving seven accused begins.
*July 25, 2010: Salem attacked by Dossa inside Arthur Road jail.
* November 1, 2011: Supreme Court begins hearing on appeals filed by 100 convicts as well as the state in the case.
Read more: Sanjay Dutt gave me a bag containing 2 rifles, bullets: Abu Salem
* August 29, 2012: Supreme Court reserves its order on the appeals.
* March 16, 2013 : Sanjay Dutt surrenders before court after SC upholds conviction.
* March 21, 2013: Supreme Court upholds death sentence of convict Yakub Memon, brother of Tiger Memon, and commutes death sentence of 10 convicts to life term. Life imprisonment of 16 out of 18 convicts also upheld.
*June 28, 2013: Salem shot at in Taloja Central jail in Navi Mumbai allegedly by gangster Devendra Jagtap alias JD, an accused in the murder case of advocate Shahid Azmi, who had represented a 26/11 Mumbai attack accused.
*August 13, 2013: TADA court drops certain charges against Salem.
*February 25, 2015: Salem sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with murder of city based builder Pradeep Jain.
*July 30, 2015: Key conspirator and lone death row convict in the case, Yakub Memon hanged.
*December 7, 2015: The court ends recording of the statement of the (seven) accused and starts hearing final arguments in the case.
*February 25, 2016: Dutt released from Yerwada jail.
*June 8, 2016: Court rejects plea of accused Firoz Abdul Rashid in which he said that he wants to become an approver.
*March 2017: Trial concludes and case reserved for judgement.
*June 16, 2017: TADA court in Mumbai convicts six accused including Dossa and Salem in second leg of trial in the blasts case; acquits one.
