Training of accused in Pakistan materialised in 1993 blasts:SC

NEW DELHI: Pakistan and its spy agency ISI played a vital role in imparting training to accused which "materialised" in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, the Supreme Court held today.

The apex court said that conspiracy to target India's financial capital was hatched by Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memom and other and it was executed with the help of Pakistani authorities.

A bench of justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan said that Dawood Ibrahim and other absconding accused along with Yakub Memon, awarded death sentence in the case, "were archers and rest of the accused were arrows in their hands".

The accused were provided with "green channel facility" in Pakistan, the apex court said and also noted that they entered Pakistan from Dubai and received training from ISI which took them out of Islamabad airport without observing any immigration rules.

"This was a green channel facility of entry and exit in Pakistan," the bench said.

The court, on perusing the evidence, said a large number of convicted and absconding persons received training in making RDX and using automatic weapons like AK 56 rifle and hand grenades in Pakistan.

Confessional statements of the accused make it clear that the management of the training was under the hands of Dawood Ibrahim and others, the bench said.

It also observed that unfortunately some police officials were also actively involved in the smuggling of explosives.