1993 Mumbai blasts: 20 years on, final verdict yet to come

Mumbai: It has been two decades since a series of 13 bomb blasts rocked Mumbai and left 200 people dead. The March 12, 1993 blasts were one of the worst attacks on the maximum city. The Mumbai blasts investigation spanned months, but the trial has dragged on for years. There's still no verdict from the Supreme Court yet.

The 1993 Mumbai blasts case investigation spanned several months leading to the arrest of 123 accused and many like underworld don Dawood Ibrahim were named as wanted accused. 20 years after one of the country's worst terror attacks, the wheels of justice are still in their final leg.

The trial began in April 1994 under the stringent Terrorist and Disruptive Activties (Prevention) Act or TADA and the first witness deposed in June 1995. The mammoth trial went on for 14 long years at the Arthur Road Prison with over 600 witnesses examined.

Finally, in December 2006, 100 accused were convicted while 23 were acquited by the TADA court. 12 of those accused were handed out capital punishments while 20 others got life sentences.

Actor Sanjay Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act while he escaped conviction under TADA. He was handed out an imprisonment of six years and is currently out on bail as the Supreme Court is yet to decide on his plea. Seven more accused including extradited gangster Abu Salem are currently being tried for their roles.

This two-decade-long chapter of Mumbai's tryst with terror is yet to get over as the Supreme Court will soon hand out its final verdict and with it perhaps bring closure to the horror of maximum city's darkest Friday.