Mumbai court grants bail to 1993 blasts case convict in laundering case

Sardar Khan, a convict in 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, was on Tuesday granted bail by a special court here in a money laundering case linked to fugitive Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aides

Sardar Khan, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, was on Tuesday granted bail by a special court here in a money laundering case linked to fugitive Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.

Former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik is one of the main accused in the money laundering case.

Khan's bail was allowed by the special judge for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), R N Rokade, on a personal bond of Rs 2,00,000.

Khan, however, will not walk out of the Central Prison in Aurangabad where he is currently lodged, as he is serving a life sentence in the bomb blasts case.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Khan had helped Malik negotiate a deal with Haseena Parkar, Dawood's sister.

Khan had sought bail under section 88 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) as he had not been arrested in the case. The section empowers the court to release an accused on accepting a bond.

Malik, the main accused in the case, was arrested by the ED in February last year. He is in judicial custody and currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital here.

The senior NCP leader's bail application is pending before the Bombay High Court.

He was denied bail earlier by the special PMLA court.

The ED's case against Malik is based on a First Information Report registered by the National Investigation Agency against Dawood Ibrahim, a designated global terrorist and the key accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, and his aides under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.