Mumbai, Sep 14 (IANS) Pronouncing the fifth conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, a special court Thursday found Mohammed Shaoib Ghansar, the main accused in the Zaveri Bazaar blasts that killed 17 people, guilty.
Ghansar was charged with parking an RDX-laden scooter that exploded in the busy Zaveri Bazaar, the seventh blast in a string of gruesome attacks that rocked India's commercial capital over a space of two hours and 10 minutes on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people and injuring more than 700.
The Zaveri Bazaar blast also left 57 people injured.
Ghansar could face punishment ranging from five years to life imprisonment and even death, according to special public prosecutor Ujjal Nikam.
Special Judge, P.D. Kode who began the process of delivering verdicts of the 123 accused in batches, was expected to take up the judgment of the next batch of nine to 18 accused Thursday - those who allegedly planted the explosives used for the 13 devastating blasts.
But during the court's proceedings he dwelt only on Ghansar's verdict.
Court officials suggested that Kode was likely to hear arguments on the quantum of punishment to be awarded to the four members of Memon family who have been found guilty.
Time permitting, the latter half of the day's proceedings would be devoted to pronouncing the quantum of punishment to the four members of the Memon family - Yusuf and his brothers Essa and Yakub and their sister-in-law Rabina.
All of them have been asked to be present in the court located inside the central jail on Arthur Road.
Three other members of Mumbai's influential Memon family - Suleiman, mother, Hanifa and sister-in-law Rahin - were acquitted by Judge Kode on Tuesday.
Of the total 123 accused, those on bail including film actor Sanjay Dutt, have been exempted from appearance until further orders.