Didn't go to Sanjay Dutt's house and give him weapons in 1993 riots: Abu Salem

Mumbai: Gangster Abu Salem has denied in his statement before the TADA court here that he went to the house of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt and gave him two AK-47 rifles and hand grenades prior to the 1993 Mumbai blasts. Dutt was convicted in the 1993 blasts case for possession of an AK-47 rifle and sentenced to five years in jail. Salem on Tuesday submitted his statement to the court under section 313 of Criminal Procedure Code, which enables the accused to personally explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence against him or her.

Extradition was based on false information and documents given to the government of Portugal, he adds. Further, CBI did not place all the relevant documents before the TADA court regarding the extradition and hence the court was misled into framing additional charges, it says. The trial "on the basis of police custody, forced confession and new fabricated material" is illegal, it says. The statement claims that Salem did not know any of the co-accused of the blasts conspiracy.

Salem has also given names of three witnesses whom he wants to examine: former CBI officer O P Chatwal and two officials from the Ministry of External Affairs. Meanwhile, the first defence witness, called by co-accused Feroze Abdul Rashid, today deposed and said he did not identify Feroze; the man in the dock was not the same person as his classmate Feroze.

During the cross-examination, when the prosecutor asked about the witness' company defrauding some persons to the tune of Rs 26 crore, he asked for water and requested that the deposition may be continued some other day. It was then adjourned. Thirteen powerful blasts had ripped through Mumbai on March 12, 1993, killing at least 257 people and injured 713.