'Would never have happened if Sanjay Dutt...' Ujjwal Nikam on 1993 Mumbai blasts

Ujjwal Deorao Nikam is a public prosecutor known for handling high-profile criminal cases.

Special prosecutor and Rajya Sabha nominee Ujjwal Nikam said the 1993 blasts in Mumbai that killed 267 people could have been averted if only actor Sanjay Dutt had reported to the police about the weapons-laden vehicle from which he had picked an AK-47 gun.

In an interview with NDTV, Nikam said Dutt "did commit an offence in the eyes of the law. But he is straight forward guy... I considered him innocent".

Sanjay Dutt was arrested under the now-defunct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) for illegal possession of weapons. However, he was later convicted only under the Arms Act and served a five-year prison sentence. He was released in 2016.

"I have only one thing to say. The blast took place on March 12, days before that a van came his (Sanjay Dutt's) house. It was full of weapons-- hand grenades, AK 47s. Abu Salem (henchman of gangster Dawood Ibrahim) had brought it. Sanjay picked some hand grenades and guns. Then he returned it all and kept just one AK 47. Had he informed the police at the time, the police would have investigated and the Mumbai blasts would never have happened," Nikam said.

According to Nikam, even Dutt's lawyer knew about the actor not informing police.  "The AK 47 was never fired and its possession - that of banned weapon -- was 'one thing'. But his not informing the police was what had led to the blasts that had killed so many people," he told NDTV.

Nikam also shared with NDTV what he told  Dutt when the actor was convicted under the Arms Act. The Rajya Sabha nominee said Dutt had lost control once the sentence was announced.

"I saw his body language change. I felt that he was in shock. He could not tolerate the verdict and he looked shaken," Nikam told NDTV.

Nikam said he spoke to Dutt when he was in the witness box. "You'd remember he became silent and then he left," he said. "I told Sanjay, 'Sanjay don't do this. The media is watching you. You are an actor. If you appear scared by the sentence, people would consider you guilty. You have a chance to appeal."

In response, Dutt reportedly said "yes sir, yes sir".

Nikam was also the prosecutor for the 26/11 Mumbai attack for which Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab was hanged.

Asked about his statement that Ajmal Kasab was having biriyani in jail, he said the terrorist had indeed demanded biriyani.

Meanwhile, the opposition has raised questions not just about Nikam’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha but also his renomination as special public prosecutor within days of him losing the Lok Sabha polls as a BJP candidate last year.

The Congress on slammed the BJP, saying that Nikam’s nomination was on the lines of two previous Supreme Court judges, one of whom became a Rajya Sabha MP and the other a governor after retirement.