Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 17, 2006 23:32:41 GMT -5
"Big 2" Loom Over 1993 India Bombs Court Case
The men tried for India's deadliest bombings, which killed 257 in Mumbai
on a day of carnage in 1993, will learn their fate this week in a court
haunted by the absence of 2 of India's most wanted men.
Dawood Ibrahim, a feared Mumbai crime boss, and Ibrahim "Tiger" Memon -
both accused of masterminding the serial bomb and grenade attacks - have
been on the run for more than 13 years.
5 people have already been convicted over India's worst-ever terror
attack, including 4 members of Memon's family.
Alleged Muslim bombers are next in line to hear their verdicts after years
of slow-moving court hearings.
They include one man accused of murdering 88 people in a devastating
car-bomb attack outside a shopping centre during the 2 hours of mayhem on
March 12, 1993, now dubbed "Black Friday".
But as verdicts began being handed down last week, with 123 alleged
bombers and conspirators packed on to wooden benches, many observers were
more aware of those absent from the makeshift courtroom.
The Indian authorities claim Dawood, the head of the notorious D Company
crime gang, is being sheltered out of their reach by neighbouring rival
Pakistan.
Feelings are running high in Mumbai, where 186 people were killed in July
in multiple train bombings blamed on Islamic militants.
One man was pictured in media this week outside the court with a large
sign that read: "Dawood Ibrahim ... should be arrested, flogged in a
public square ... and finally hanged."
On the charge sheet, Dawood and Memon are named as "absconding proclaimed
offenders" who plotted to wage war against the government of India.
Indian police allege the attack on India's economic heartland was planned
as a response to Hindu-Muslim religious riots in 1992-93 that left
hundreds of people dead.
They were sparked after a mosque was torn down by Hindu extremists.
Pakistan connection
Intelligence officials involved in the case claim Dawood obtained weapons
from Pakistan and shipped them from the port city of Karachi to the west
coast of India for the attacks.
"He was the man who was the real mastermind," said B. Raman, the head of
counter-terrorism at India's foreign intelligence agency in 1993.
"Tiger Memon was the number two in the entire plot. But it was Dawood's
idea."
Memon is the man accused of running the Indian end of the operation and
allegedly recruited the alleged bombers, who left primed explosives in
vans and scooters outside key strategic targets in the city, including the
stock exchange.
"The ones who are the real culprits have gone," said defence lawyer
Farhana Shah, who represents 80 defendants, many of them on bail.
"For the last 13 years they have faced this trial but they haven't
absconded," she added.
In 1993, Dawood said through an intermediary that he was prepared to stand
trial over the blasts but the offer was rejected.
"He put conditions ... that no government authority would have been able
to accept," said M.N Singh, a retired senior policeman who headed Mumbai's
crime branch in 1993.
"He wanted to be kept under house arrest, not in a jail, and should be
tried only for the blast case. That was not possible ... he was involved
in a large number of serious crimes."
Indian officials insist Memon is also in Pakistan.
Dawood and Memon were both in the port city of Karachi but Dawood may have
had plastic surgery to change his appearance and moved to the restive
tribal region of Waziristan, according to Raman.
Dawood ran protection and smuggling rackets in Mumbai before moving to
Dubai in the mid-1980s.
From there, and later in Karachi, he became involved in arms smuggling,
aiding nuclear technology proliferation and cricket match-fixing, claims
Raman.
He says Dawood has interests in countries including South Africa, Malaysia
and Nepal.
Dawood, the son of a policeman and labelled a global terrorist by the US,
is also accused of sharing smuggling routes with Islamic terrorists.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied Dawood is in the country. But India
insisted it had strong evidence he was there, such as the marriage of his
daughter to the son of former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad.
Singh said the trial remained significant even without the alleged
masterminds in the dock as a raft of verdicts were expected in the coming
weeks.
"They may not be the masterminds, but they were very important
operatives," Singh said of those found guilty.
Prosecutors have already asked for the death penalty for three of those
convicted - Memon's brothers.
(source: Agence France Presse)
The men tried for India's deadliest bombings, which killed 257 in Mumbai
on a day of carnage in 1993, will learn their fate this week in a court
haunted by the absence of 2 of India's most wanted men.
Dawood Ibrahim, a feared Mumbai crime boss, and Ibrahim "Tiger" Memon -
both accused of masterminding the serial bomb and grenade attacks - have
been on the run for more than 13 years.
5 people have already been convicted over India's worst-ever terror
attack, including 4 members of Memon's family.
Alleged Muslim bombers are next in line to hear their verdicts after years
of slow-moving court hearings.
They include one man accused of murdering 88 people in a devastating
car-bomb attack outside a shopping centre during the 2 hours of mayhem on
March 12, 1993, now dubbed "Black Friday".
But as verdicts began being handed down last week, with 123 alleged
bombers and conspirators packed on to wooden benches, many observers were
more aware of those absent from the makeshift courtroom.
The Indian authorities claim Dawood, the head of the notorious D Company
crime gang, is being sheltered out of their reach by neighbouring rival
Pakistan.
Feelings are running high in Mumbai, where 186 people were killed in July
in multiple train bombings blamed on Islamic militants.
One man was pictured in media this week outside the court with a large
sign that read: "Dawood Ibrahim ... should be arrested, flogged in a
public square ... and finally hanged."
On the charge sheet, Dawood and Memon are named as "absconding proclaimed
offenders" who plotted to wage war against the government of India.
Indian police allege the attack on India's economic heartland was planned
as a response to Hindu-Muslim religious riots in 1992-93 that left
hundreds of people dead.
They were sparked after a mosque was torn down by Hindu extremists.
Pakistan connection
Intelligence officials involved in the case claim Dawood obtained weapons
from Pakistan and shipped them from the port city of Karachi to the west
coast of India for the attacks.
"He was the man who was the real mastermind," said B. Raman, the head of
counter-terrorism at India's foreign intelligence agency in 1993.
"Tiger Memon was the number two in the entire plot. But it was Dawood's
idea."
Memon is the man accused of running the Indian end of the operation and
allegedly recruited the alleged bombers, who left primed explosives in
vans and scooters outside key strategic targets in the city, including the
stock exchange.
"The ones who are the real culprits have gone," said defence lawyer
Farhana Shah, who represents 80 defendants, many of them on bail.
"For the last 13 years they have faced this trial but they haven't
absconded," she added.
In 1993, Dawood said through an intermediary that he was prepared to stand
trial over the blasts but the offer was rejected.
"He put conditions ... that no government authority would have been able
to accept," said M.N Singh, a retired senior policeman who headed Mumbai's
crime branch in 1993.
"He wanted to be kept under house arrest, not in a jail, and should be
tried only for the blast case. That was not possible ... he was involved
in a large number of serious crimes."
Indian officials insist Memon is also in Pakistan.
Dawood and Memon were both in the port city of Karachi but Dawood may have
had plastic surgery to change his appearance and moved to the restive
tribal region of Waziristan, according to Raman.
Dawood ran protection and smuggling rackets in Mumbai before moving to
Dubai in the mid-1980s.
From there, and later in Karachi, he became involved in arms smuggling,
aiding nuclear technology proliferation and cricket match-fixing, claims
Raman.
He says Dawood has interests in countries including South Africa, Malaysia
and Nepal.
Dawood, the son of a policeman and labelled a global terrorist by the US,
is also accused of sharing smuggling routes with Islamic terrorists.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied Dawood is in the country. But India
insisted it had strong evidence he was there, such as the marriage of his
daughter to the son of former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad.
Singh said the trial remained significant even without the alleged
masterminds in the dock as a raft of verdicts were expected in the coming
weeks.
"They may not be the masterminds, but they were very important
operatives," Singh said of those found guilty.
Prosecutors have already asked for the death penalty for three of those
convicted - Memon's brothers.
(source: Agence France Presse)