Police seek 26/11 court nod to dispose of seized RDX

The RDX was recovered from three unexploded IEDs — one outside Taj Mahal Hotel,another near Gokul Restaurant and the third from an unclaimed baggage at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST).

The seized explosive was placed before the court as evidence.

It is the prosecution’s case that two deceased terrorist,Abdul Rehman Bada and Javed alias Abu Ali,had planted 8 to 10 kgs RDX-laden IED outside the main porch of Taj Hotel in South Mumbai.

However,before it could explode,the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) defused the bomb.

Two other terrorists,Abu Shoib and Abu Umer,who had fired at people at Leopold Cafe,had planted 8 to 10 kgs RDX- laden IED on the kerb near Gokul Restaurant in the same area which did not exploded.

Both Shoib and Umer were later killed by the security forces in the gunbattle at Hotel Taj.

The third pair of attackers,Ajmal Kasab and slain terrorist Abu Ismail,had kept RDX-filled IED in an unclaimed baggage at CST station before firing indiscriminately at people. The IED had not exploded.

The procedure for disposing of RDX recovered from terror sites is to seek court’s permission after the evidence has been closed. The court generally allows destruction of RDX in the presence of a Magistrate.

In the 1993 bomb blasts case,police had similarly disposed of RDX in the presence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM).

At the relevant time,M L Tahaliyani,who is now presiding over the 26/11 court,was the CMM and the seized RDX was destroyed in his presence.