The Verdict for the Blasts that rocked Mumbai, the Financial Capital of India on 12th March 1993 has been pronounced. The Special TADA Court of Mumbai awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2 Lacs to Conspirators Abu Salem and Karimullah Sheikh. Salem and Sheikh along with Riyaz Siddiqui, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Tahir Merchant and Mustafa Dausa were declared guilty by Court on 16th on June, earlier this year. Mustafa Dausa died on Heart Attack on 28th of June.
Here are the names of the convicts along with their respective quantum of Punishment:
- Abu Salem – Life Imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2 lacs
- Karimullah Sheikh – Life Imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2 lacs
- Riyaz Siddiqui – 10 Years Rigorous Imprisonment
- Tahir Merchant – To be Hanged till Death
- Firoz Abdul Rashid Sheikh – To be Hanged till Death
It must be noted that in Supreme Court had clarified in the month of June 2012 that Life Imprisonment means Imprisonment for Life and not 14 or 20 Years. Hence Salem and Sheikh will spend rest of their lives incarcerated.
Dreaded Gangsters Abu Salem whose connections ran deep in the Mafia World and whose name terrorized the Film Fraternity was extradited from Portugal. It is because of the extradition treaty between India and Portugal that Court couldn’t announce award capital punishment to Abu Salem.
Mumbai Bomb Blasts of March 1993
A series of Bomb blasts rocked Mumbai on 12th of March 1993. There were a total of 12 Bomb Blasts in different places in Mumbai. A widespread use of RDX was noted in the Bomb Blasts.
The First blast occurred at 1:30PM in the Bombay Stock Exchange. It was followed by bomb blasts in Narsinath Street, Shiv Sena Bhawan, Air India Building, Century Bazaar, Mahim, Jhaveri Bazaar, Sea Rock Hotel, Plaza Cinema, Centaur Hotel, Juhu, Sahaar Airport and Airport Centaur Hotel.
A total of 257 people died in the Bomb Blasts while more than 700 people were injured.
The Conspirators:
Abu Salem was the one of the main conspirators of the Mumbai bomb blasts. He along with Tiger Memon planned the operations and facilitated the distribution of RDX, Explosives, Guns, Bullets, Grenades and Vehicles.
Mustafa Dausa: Mustafa Dausa was involved in the transportation of RDX as well as the training of the terrorists.
Tahir Merchant: He facilitated the training of the Terrorists as well as providing them a passage to Pakistan
Riyaz Siddiqui’s: His car was used by Abu Salem for the transportation of RDX and Explosives. He was fully aware of what was being transported and for what purpose.
Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan – He was the Chief Planner and was a part of the meeting in Dubai in which the entire operation was planned. He also used his contacts to facilitate the transportation of Arms and Ammunition.
Karimullah Sheikh: He facilitated the Training of Terrorists in Pakistan. He also helped in shipping Explosives to India
27 Terrorists including the master mind Tiger Memon and Chhota Shakeel are at large and are believed to be living in Pakistan.