Sanjay Dutt. PHOTO: IANS
NEW DELHI:
India’s top court upheld the death penalty on Thursday for a mastermind of the country’s deadliest series of attacks and ruled Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, who bought weapons from the bombers, must return to jail.
‘Tiger’ Memon, Mushtaq Memon and Dawood Ibrahim were described by the court as the key accused in the bombings which killed 257 people. The court said that the three were the “archers, while the rest of the accused were arrows in their hands.”
Yakub Memon, brother of the alleged main plotter and fugitive Tiger Memon, was the only one of 11 convicts to see his death sentence upheld by the Supreme Court for his role in the blasts.
Dutt is guilty of illegal possession of arms, procured from those who planned India’s deadliest attack in history. He has already served 18 months but is currently out on bail.
This will mean an estimated earnings loss of $50 million for Dutt based on films he has signed.
Dutt said he was “shattered and in emotional distress” after the court ruling. “I am heartbroken because today, along with me, my three children, my wife and my family will undergo the punishment,” Dutt said in a statement. “I know in my heart that I have always been a good human being, respected the system and always been loyal to my country.”
The bombing led to acerbity between India and Pakistan, following claims that it had a hand in the attacks. “The training of convicts materialised in Pakistan,” read the Indian Supreme Court’s order.
Allegation denied
Pakistan’s foreign office has rejected the Indian court’s ‘allegation’ about Pakistan’s complicity in the Mumbai attacks. In a press release, the office, alluding to the attacks, rejected any “insinuations pointing to the involvement of Pakistan or any of its agencies”.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2013.
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