MUMBAI: “Majhab ke liye kiya tha (I did it for my religion),” confessed 48-year-old Shanawaz Qureshi, minutes after his conviction by the TADA court on Monday. “What would you have done if your religion was under threat,” asked the short and stout butcher, who had earlier worked in the Deonar abattoir, of his role in the ‘93 blasts.
 
“Dubai mein humko bola tha ki badla lena hai Babri Masjid ka (I was told in Dubai to avenge the desecration of Babri Masjid),” he said. Qureshi has a Hindu wife, Chhaya, and a 13-year-old son living in the slums of Nargis Dutt Nagar in Bandra.
 
He recounted bitterly how his house was burnt down during the 1992 riots. “My friends have got me entangled in this mess,” he said referring to Javed Chikna, an absconding accused.
 
Later, evading a direct question on whether he went to Pakistan for acquiring training in the use of weapons, he said, “They took us somewhere from Dubai and showed us guns. That is not training.”