Desk Correspondent , Gandhinagar - A special TADA court in Jamnagar on Monday convicted 12 individuals in a major 1993 arms smuggling case linked to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and associates, marking partial closure to a conspiracy aimed at avenging the Babri Masjid demolition. The court sentenced 10 convicts to five years of rigorous imprisonment and two to seven years, sending all to judicial custody. Seventeen others were acquitted in the long-running trial.

The case, registered on July 15, 1993, at Jamnagar B-division police station under TADA, IPC, Arms Act, and Explosives Substances Act, involved smuggling a large cache of weapons and explosives, including RDX, hand grenades, bombs, and rifles, via sea routes from Pakistan. Prosecution proved the conspiracy was hatched at Dawood's Dubai residence with help from Pakistani Marine Security Agency and military officers. Key local operatives from Jamnagar's Bedi village and Kutch's Salaya-Mandvi were recruited. The arms landed at Gosabara near Porbandar coast from the launch 'Sada Al Bahar' after mid-sea transfers involving other boats like 'Bismillah' and 'Marwan'. Weapons were then transported by truck to Surat, Valsad, Uttar Pradesh, and other places to spread communal terror.

Investigation, spanning 1993 to 2018 by officers including P.K. Jha, Satish Verma, and Manoj Shashidhar, led to 46 arrests, with 11 deaths and six discharges during proceedings. Fifteen key accused, including Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon, Anees Ibrahim Kaskar, and Chhota Shakeel, remain proclaimed absconders, believed to be in Pakistan or UAE. The trial against 29 accused began in 2018 after multiple charge sheets, with 63 witnesses examined. Special Public Prosecutor Tushar Gokani highlighted evidence of international involvement and successful prosecution of the meticulously planned operation.