Hence they cannot now claim that since they were not present the evidence recorded in their absence cannot be used. The prosecution on Friday concluded its arguments against the second set of accused of 1993 serial blasts case, claiming it has proved the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt. Hence, Salvi said, all the evidence recorded against the 129 accused is admissible against the remaining seven too. In the second trial, which has lasted more than six years, the prosecution relied heavily on confessions of the 129 suspects tried earlier. Seven key accused – Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Firoz Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Karimullah Shaikh, Mohammad Tahir Merchant, alias Tahir Taklya, and Abdul Qayyum – are currently facing trial before designated TADA judge G A Sanap.

Source: Hindustan Times July 22, 2016 17:48 UTC