1993 serial blasts case: Have nothing to do with blast says accused

Accordingly, he was given 24-hour time and had been produced before the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court on Monday and his confession was recorded. Before the special court, where he was produced by the CBI for his custody, Shaikh told the court that he had not said anything about his role in the blast.

“I have not accepted anything about the blast. I have nothing to do with the blast,” Shaikh told the court. The confessional statement was submitted before the special court in a sealed envelope. Shaikh’s advocate Farhana Shah, submitted an application before the court that he was retracting from the confession.

Special counsel for the CBI Deepak Salvi sought Shaikh’s custody for 14 days, submitting that the investigators had to verify the facts he said in the statement and also get information regarding the other absconding accused in the case. Salvi submitted that Shaikh had been absconding since 25 years.

The remand application submitted by the CBI before the court stated that Shaikh had attended the conspiracy meeting at Dubai towards the end of January or beginning of February in 1993, headed by prime absconding accused Dawood Ibrahim.

The CBI claimed that Shaikh had been directed by Mustafa Dossa — who was convicted last year, but died before he could be sentenced — and his brother, absconding accused Mohammed Dossa, to proceed to Pakistan along with others for training in arms and ammunition to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.

The CBI claimed that Shaikh had travelled along with four others to Pakistan to receive the training.