Thapa outside court. (Reuters)

Mumbai, July 20: A senior customs official held responsible for facilitating landings of RDX, arms and ammunition was awarded life sentence, while two “bomb planters” were handed death and life terms by the special anti-terror court today.

Former customs official Somnath Thapa has been accused of facilitating the smuggling of two caches of arms and explosives at Dighi and Shekhadi on the Raigad coast in January and February 1993. Three other customs officials have been sentenced in the case so far, but Thapa’s punishment has been the harshest.

Judge Pramod Kode cancelled Thapa’s bail and ordered that the former official, who is suffering from lung cancer, be lodged in the Arthur Road jail so that he could continue his chemotherapy.

“You have knowingly facilitated smuggling of arms and ammunition. You were legally bound to prevent such acts,” Kode said.

As additional collector of customs (preventive), Alibaug division, Thapa was the senior-most official in charge of coastal surveillance. CBI investigations have shown that though he received intelligence alerts about the possible smuggling of weapons by Tiger Memon and his network, Thapa did not take sufficient preventive measures.

The judge handed the death penalty to Mohammed Iqbal Shaikh, one of the group of 17 identified as “bomb planters”, for his role in lobbing hand grenades at Sahar airport and planting an RDX-laden scooter at a congested market in central Mumbai’s Naigaum.

The bomb failed to go off and was defused on March 14, 1993, two days after the serial explosions.

Kode said Shaikh had taken part in arms training at Sandheri hills in Raigad, attended conspiracy meetings and filled RDX in vehicles at Memon’s Mahim residence. A frail, bearded Shaikh, who suffers from a psychological disorder, wept while his verdict was read out.

Bashir Ahmed Khairulla, alias Bashir Electrician, was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in lobbing hand grenades at the fishermen’s colony on Mahim Causeway with the intention of triggering a communal riot.

Khairulla and five others threw grenades from a Maruti, killing three bystanders and injuring six.