He was in the thick of it — a close aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim who planned the ‘93 Mumbai blasts in the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6,1992 and the riots that followed. But after seeing the death and destruction the serial blasts caused, this 28-year-old had a change of heart and turned against the D-company. In the end, among the 100 convicted by the special TADA court, 33 were because of his testimony.

“Injustice ka violence se solution ho hi nahi sakta. Violence can only cause destruction,” says Police Witness No 2 Badshah Khan (name changed) whose testimony not only strengthened the prosecution’s case but also helped unravel the conspiracy of the ‘93 blasts. “Mujhe kafi sukoon hua hain,” he says after reading the morning papers that talked of 80 per cent convictions in the case.

Khan (41) is now a married man with three school-going children. Though he hasn’t quite picked up the pieces of his troubled life life — he is a hotelier in the western suburbs of Mumbai — the verdict has instilled a sense of relief.

“I will not be able to forget the deed I committed till my dying day — call it a mistake or an act of ignorance. Khali pardon dene se mere dil ka bhoj halka nahi hua (Just because I have been pardoned by the court does not mean that I can forget the wrong I have committed).”

In his spacious, comfortable suburban home surrounded with religious symbols and verses from the Quran, he vividly recalls the fascinating, yet gruesome story behind the ‘93 blasts. “Babri masjid was demolished. At the time, the situation was really bad for a Muslim. Any man with a beard was a target. A taxi-driver would not ply his vehicle just because the verse of kalma was written on it. Anyone who wore a burkha was a target. Friday namaaz on the road was stopped.”

... contd.