'93 blasts case: two sentenced for life

A special court on Thursday sentenced two people, including one of the main conspirators of the Mumbai 1993 blasts, to life imprisonment.

The anti-terror TADA court sentenced a total of seven convicts on Thursday for their role in the serial blasts that killed 257 people.

Nasir Dakkla was awarded life sentence on two counts - for conspiring and for aiding and abetting the terror act.

Nasir faced charges of participating in meetings of the perpetrators before the bombing and had visited Pakistan to get arms training. He had also helped when the weapons reached Maharashtra by sea.

Judge PD Kode termed him as a "coveted member of conspirators".

"I am not giving you a death because you had distanced yourself from conspirators just prior to the blast but you didn't inform the police, which you should have done," Kode said. Nasir was also fined Rs 25,000.

The other convict to get life was Ashraf Rehman Sheikh - found guilty of possessing 85 hand grenades, 350 detonators and 3,217 live cartridges that he had hidden at his residence in the heart of Mumbai's Fort area. A fine Rs 100,000 was also imposed on him.

The judge came down heavily on the police and the prosecution for their faulty chargesheet and for not recording the recovery properly.