The charges ranged from ignoring information of the arms landing to facilitating the crime. The line of crime ran top-down, right from the big fish to his last subordinate.

SOMNATH THAPA

(then Additional Collector)

His was the most difficult case to prove as there was no direct evidence against him. The accusation against Thapa is that in spite of getting information about the landing at Shekhadi and that the main exit point could be in Mhasla Shrivardhan area, he laid a trap at Purarphata on Mhasla-Goregaon road on January 30. Besides that, his team gave up the vigil after February 2 in spite of the warnings. The arms and ammunition landed on February 3 and 7, 1993.

Being a central government employee, it was difficult to raid his house without the help of senior police officials. Nothing incriminating was recovered from him. A confession under TADA had not been recorded. Only two officers, who had given the evidence, deposed against him. The court, however, took the evidence on record and convicted him under section 3.

R K Singh (Asst Commissioner) & MS Sayyed (Superintendent)

Singh, who was posted in Alibaug division, had Sayyed’s confession going against him. Sayyed had told police that Singh and he met Mohammed Dossa and his associates and fixed a bribe more than Rs 7.8 lakh. Sayyed had also graphically described how landing agent Dadabhai Phanse’s son, Sarfaraz, gave Singh a packet of Rs 3 lakh in cash of which Singh gave him Rs 50, 000. Singh met Phanse and Uttam Potdar, another smuggler, later.

SS Talawdekar

(Superintendent (preventive)

Talawdekar was convicted for not acting on the specific information about smuggling and for accepting bribe for facilitating the landing of arms. Last year, the Alibaug Sessions Court sentenced Talawdekar to a year in rigorous imprisonment under the Prevention of Corruption Act for having disproportionate assets.

Jayawant Gurav

(Inspector (preventive)

The most damning evidence was against Gurav, who had let the accused use his official jeep for the landing. He was found guilty of piloting two trucks loaded with explosives to safe passage from Ghondhar Phata to Kanghar in Raigad district as part of the Dighi landing operations.