Gateway blast: Accused wants to turn approver

In a significant development in the Gateway of India bomb blast case, an accused on Wednesday expressed a desire in a special court to turn approver and disclose threadbare the conspiracy leading to the August 25 explosions, in which over 50 persons were killed.

The prosecutor, Ujjwal Nikam, moved an application before designated judge A B Bhangale saying the accused may be treated as an approver. He urged the court to direct the media to refrain from publishing the name of the accused for security reasons.

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The accused deposed before the court and told the judge that he is 'ready to accept the burden'. He also informed the court that he had the entire knowledge of the conspiracy and was ready to disclose how he and others had executed the blasts.

He informed the court that he had decided to turn approver as he was repenting over the crime. He disclosed that the initial conspiracy was hatched in Mumbai.

The accused further informed the court that he had written a letter to the police commissioner to turn approver and that he had given a statement of confession under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

In another development, other accused in the case Arshad Ansari, Mohammed Haneef and his wife Femida told the court that police continued to harass them despite their being in custody for so many days. They accused policemen of threatening them and asking them to do their bidding or face dire consequences. Their lawyer forwarded their complaint in a letter to the court.

Complete coverage of the Mumbai blasts