'1993 Mumbai blasts could have been averted'

MUMBAI: The 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai could have been averted if film star Sanjay Dutt had promptly informed the police about the procurement of smuggled weapons from the underworld, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said here on Friday.

"Sanjay Dutt knew that the three AK56 rifles he received from Samir Hingora, Ibrahim Mussa and Abu Salem on Jan 16, 1993, were part of a consignment meant for terrorist acts," Nikam told at the Arthur Road jail here after the day's hearing in the TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act) court.

Regretting that the Bollywood star has not been held guilty under the TADA Act (Dutt has been convicted under Arms Act), the special prosecutor said Dutt was aware of the fact that the persons who supplied the arms to him had links with the terrorists and the underworld.

Nikam also disapproved the massive support the film star has been getting from his fraternity.