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Ibrahim is believed to have ordered and helped organize the bombings in Bombay,
through one of his subordinates, Tiger Memon. The bombings are also believed to have
been financially assisted by the expatriate Indian smugglers, Hajji Ahmed, Hajji Umar
and Taufiq Jaliawala, as well as the Pakistani smugglers, Aslam Bhatti and Dawood Jatt.
The Indian authorities have also alleged the involvement of the Pakistani intelligence
agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the blasts.[7]
It is believed that the attacks were carried out in retaliation for the enormous Muslim
casualties and widespread damage to the Muslim owned businesses and properties which
occurred during the Hindu-Muslim riots in Bombay on December 1992 and January
1993, in the fall-out of the demolition of the Babri Mosque.[8]
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Prelude
o 1.1 Background
o 1.2 Confession of Gul Mohammed
• 2 The bombings
• 3 Aftermath
• 4 Arrests, convictions and verdict
o 4.1 The Memons
o 4.2 The Planters
o 4.3 Accused involved
o 4.4 Landing agents
o 4.5 Customs officials
o 4.6 Policemen
o 4.7 Sanjay Dutt and friends
o 4.8 Others
• 5 Popular culture
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 External links
[edit] Prelude
[edit] Background
In December 1992 and January 1993, there was widespread rioting in Mumbai following
the 6 December destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya by extreme Hindu groups.
Although there was no loss of life in the incident at the Babri Mosque, a series of riots
soon erupted throughout the nation, most notably in Bombay. After five years following
the December–January riots, the Srikrishna Commission Report stated that nine hundred
individuals lost their lives and over two thousand were injured, most of them Muslim, in
the riots.[9]
Three days before the bombings took place on 9 March 1993, a small time hood from the
Behrampada slum in North east Bombay named Gul Noor Mohammad Sheikh a.k.a
"Gullu" was detained at the Nav Pada police station. A participant in the communal riots
that had rocked Bombay the previous year, Gullu was also one of the 19 men handpicked
by the gold smuggler and chief mastermind, Tiger Memon and sent to Pakistan via Dubai
on 19 February 1993 , for training of the use of arms and bomb making.[10]
Upon completion of his training, Gullu returned to Bombay via Dubai on 4 March 1993,
only to find that in his absence the police had picked up his brothers to get him to
surrender. In a vain attempt to secure his brothers' release, Gullu surrendered to the
police. He confessed to his role in the riots, his training in Pakistan, and a conspiracy
underway to bomb major locations around the city, including the Bombay Stock
Exchange, Sahar International Airport and the Shiv Sena Bhavan. However, his
conspiracy claim was dismissed by the police as "mere bluff".[10]
The arrest of Gul Mohammed spurred Tiger Memon to advance the date of the blasts
which were to coincide with the Shiv Jayanti celebrations in April 1993 to 12 March to
pre-empt any police action.[10][11]
Three hotels, the Hotel Sea Rock, Hotel Juhu Centaur, and Hotel Airport Centaur, were
targeted by suitcase bombs left in rooms booked by the perpetrators.[14] Banks, the
regional passport office, hotels, the Air India Building, and a major shopping complex
were also hit. Bombs exploded at Zaveri Bazaar, area opposite of Century Bazaar, Katha
Bazaar, Shiv Sena Bhawan, and Plaza Theatre. A jeep-bomb at the Century Bazaar
exploded early, thwarting another attack.[15] Grenades were also thrown at Sahar
International Airport and at Fishermen's Colony, apparently targeting Hindus at the latter.
[16]
A double decker bus was very badly damaged in one of the explosions and that single
incident accounted for the greatest loss of life – perhaps up to ninety people were killed.
[15]
[edit] Aftermath
The official number of dead was 257 with 1,400 others injured (some news sources say
317 people died;[21] this is due to a bomb which killed 60 in Calcutta on 17 March[22]).
Several days later, unexploded car bombs were discovered at a railway station. Terrorist
groups based in Pakistan were suspected to be responsible for these bombings, and
evidence uncovered pointed to the involvement of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
On 25 August 2003, two large and destructive bombs left in taxis exploded in south
Mumbai – the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar in the busy Kalbadevi area – killing
52 people, again entirely Hindus and wounding more than a hundred others. Two
Pakistan based militant groups, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba, were found to
be responsible for the attacks. Along with the July 2006 train bombings in Mumbai, these
attacks are believed to be in retaliation for the 2002 Gujarat riots in which more than a
thousand persons, mostly Muslims were killed,[23] though the Gujarat government denies
such a connection.[24]
On 11 July 2006, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra during the blasts, Sharad Pawar,
admitted, on record, that he had "deliberately misled" people following the 1993 Bombay
blasts by saying there were "12 and not 11" explosions, adding the name of a Muslim-
dominated locality to show that people from both communities had been affected.[25] He
tried to justify this deception by claiming that it was a move to prevent communal riots
by falsely portraying that both Hindu and Muslim communities in the city had been
affected adversely. He also admits to lying about evidence recovered and misleading
people into believing that some of it pointed to the Tamil Tigers as possible suspects.[25]
The bombings also caused a major rift within the D-Company, the most powerful
criminal organization in the Mumbai underworld headed by Dawood Ibrahim. Infuriated
at the bombings, Ibrahim's right hand man Chotta Rajan split from the organization,
taking most of the leadership-level Hindu aides such as Sadhu Shetty, Jaspal Singh and
Mohan Kotiyan with him. Rajan's split divided the Mumbai underworld along communal
lines and pitted Chotta Rajan's predominantly Hindu gang against Dawood Ibrahim's
predominantly Muslim D-Company. The ensuing gang war took the lives of more than a
hundred gangsters and continues to this day.[26] Seven of the accused (Salim Kurla,
Majeed Khan, Shakil Ahmed, Mohammed Jindran, Hanif Kadawala, Akbar Abu Sama
Khan and Mohammed Latif) were systematically assassinated by Chotta Rajan's hitmen.
[27][28]
Three other members of the Memon family were acquitted by the special TADA court
with the judge giving them the benefit of doubt.[29] The four members of the Memon
family are being held after being found guilty on charges of conspiring and abetting acts
of terror.[30] All four of them face jail terms from five years in prison to life
imprisonment, that will be determined based on the severity of their crime.[29] A day later,
the TADA court announced that it would start pronouncing the verdict of the thirty-one
people charged with transporting and planting bombs.
Yakub Memon, the brother of prime accused Tiger Memon, was charged for possession
of unauthorised arms. After the blasts, family members of Tiger, including Yakub,
escaped from Bombay to Dubai and Pakistan. Correspondents say Tiger Memon owned a
restaurant in Bombay and was allegedly closely associated with Dawood Ibrahim, the
chief suspect.[31]
Except for Tiger and his brother Ayub, the entire family returned to India and were
prompty arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 1994. Since then, Yakub has
been in custody and is undergoing treatment for depression. The Memon family was
subsequently tried in court and found guilty of conspiracy. The defence lawyers have
asked for leniency in the sentencing and have caused delays in the process.[31]
Two of the accused, Mohammed Umar Khatlab and Badshah Khan (pseudonym given by
the prosecution to hide his real identity) turned state approvers.[28]
Dawood Ibrahim, believed to have masterminded the terrorist attacks, is the Don of the
Mumbai organised crime syndicate D-Company, largely consisting of Muslims. He is
suspected of having connections to several Pakistan based terrorist groups,[32] such as al-
Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden,[33] as well as Lashkar-e-Toiba[34] and was
declared a terrorist by the governments of India and the United States in 2003. Ibrahim is
now wanted by Interpol as a part of the worldwide terror syndicate of Osama bin Laden.
[35]
He has been in hiding since the blasts and is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, which
the Pakistani government denies.[36] The Bush administration in the United States
imposed sanctions on Ibrahim in 2006.[37]
The penalty stage of the longest running trial in India's history is still ongoing. In
February 2007, prosecutors asked for the death penalty for forty-four of the hundred
convicted. The prosecution also requested the death penalty for those convicted of
conspiracy in the case.[38]
Yakub Memon has spent approximately 15+ years in prison. He was sentenced
to death by hanging by the Judge, Ashish Roy Pillai.
Rubina Memon. Her Maruti car was the first piece of evidence in the trial. She
was convicted for allowing the use of her Maruti van, registered on her name, by
other accused, who had delivered the explosives and awarded a life sentence.[41]
Three members of the Memon family - Suleiman, Hanifa and Raheen were
acquitted with the judge giving them the benefit of doubt.[42]
Prosecution has sought the death sentence for all except Imtiaz Ghavate as he is HIV
positive. The prosecution has sought a lesser sentence for him.
• He was also guilty of filling RDX in the scooter the previous night
at Al-Hussaini building that killed 17 people and injured 57. He is Asghar
Mukadam's cousin.
• He was sentenced to death by the court on the counts of murder
and participating in terrorist act[43] on 19 July 2007[44]
Abdul Ghani Turk, guilty of parking RDX-laden jeep at Century Bazaar killing
113 and injuring 227
• Filling RDX in vehicles killing 113 and injuring 227
• Sentenced to death on 18 July 2007.[45]
Parvez Shaikh, guilty of parking a bomb in Katha Bazaar that killed four.
Imtiaz Ghavate was the only one who did not face death planted unexploded
RDX-laden scooter at Dhanji street in South Bombay.
• He also participated in the landing of RDX, arms and ammunition
at Shekhadi. He was present at the Al Husseini building, where vehicle
bombs were readied.
• Sentenced to life imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs. 2,27,000.
[47]
Mohammed Moin Qureshi, Feroz Amani Malik, Bashir Khairulla, Zakir Hussain and
Abdul Akhtar Khan had pelted hand grendes in Mahim Causeway causing three deaths
and injuring six. The driver Salim Shaikh , did not pelt any hand grenades.
Zakir Hussain was convicted for participating in the arms, ammunition and
weapon training in Pakistan, for participating in conspirator's meetings and
participating in the filling of RDX
Abdul Akhtar Khan convicted for taking arms, ammunition and explosives
training in Pakistan.
Firoz Amani Malik convicted for taking arms, ammunition and explosives
training in Pakistan
• Initially, the prosecution had sought the death sentences, but due to
his old age, he was given two consecutive life sentences (to be served
concurrently) and fined Rs 2 lakhs.[52][53]
Sharif Abdul Gafoor Parkar a.k.a Dadabhai, guilty of bribing officials and
police at Raigad to assist in the landing of RDX, arms and ammunition at
Shekhadi, showed training camps at Sandheri and Bhor Ghat, transportation of
consignment.[51][53]
[edit] Policemen
Sanjay Dutt, convicted and sentenced to 6 years in prison for possessing arms.
Yusuf Nulwalla, convicted for trying to destroy Sanjay's arms. He has been
sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment with two years further for
destroying the arms. Also, he has to pay Rs 25,000 as fine.
Kersi Adejania, convicted for trying to destroy Sanjay's arms. He has been
sentence to two years rigorous imprisonment. He too has been slapped with a fine
of Rs. 25,000 fine.
Rusi Mulla, convicted for trying to destroy Sanjay's arms. He has been freed by
the court but has to pay Rs. 1 lakh to the court.
All four have been convicted under Arms Act and had applied for release under
Probation of Offenders Act
[edit] Others
Zaibunnisa Kadri guilty for storing AK-56 and hand grenades at the instance of
Anees Ibrahim and Abu Salem, she faces a minimum of five years RI.
Mansoor Ahmed convicted for carrying weapons from Sanjay Dutt's house to co-
accused's house has already spent 9 years in prison
Samir Hingora convicted for conspiracy.[56] For supplying 3 AK-56 rifles, its
magazines and ammunition, hand grenades to Sanjay Dutt's residence as told to
by Anis Ibrahim. Prosecution has sought the death sentence
Ibrahim Musa Chauhan alias Baba Chauhan convicted for supplying AK-56
rifles, its magazines, ammunition, and hand grenades to Sanjay Dutt and Salim
Kurla as told to by Anis Ibrahim. He was also convicted for being in unauthorised
possession of one AK 56 rifles, 635 ammunition, 10 magazines, and 25 hand
grenades, which were recovered by the police
Ejaz Pathan extradited from Dubai in 2003, participated in Dubai meetings,
provided men for landing of arms and ammunition at Shekhadi, for being in
possession of arms and sending youth to Dubai for arms training.[57]