1993 Mumbai bombings
Encyclopedia
The 1993 Bombay bombings were a series of 13 bomb
explosion
s that took place in Bombay
(now Mumbai), Maharashtra
, India
on Friday, 12 March 1993. The coordinated attacks were the most destructive bomb explosions in Indian history. The single-day attacks resulted in up to 250 fatalities and 700 injuries.
The attacks were coordinated by Dawood Ibrahim
, don of the Bombay-based international organized crime
syndicate named D-Company
, which had also operated as a terrorist
organization.
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. Several of the terrorists received arms, ammunition and explosives training in Pakistan, or were recruited from Dubai
, UAE.
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 between December 1992 and January 1993, in the fall-out of the demolition of the Babri Mosque
.
in Ayodhya by extremist Hindu
organisations. 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 (now Mumbai). 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.
and sent to Pakistan via Dubai
on 19 February 1993, for training of the use of arms and bomb making.
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".
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.
exploded in the basement of the Bombay Stock Exchange
building. The 28-story office building housing the exchange was severely damaged, and many nearby office buildings also suffered some damage. About 50 were killed by this explosion. About 30 minutes later, another car bomb exploded elsewhere in the city, and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. a total of 13 bombs exploded throughout Bombay. Most of the bombs were car bombs, but some were in scooters.
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. 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. Grenade
s were also thrown at Sahar International Airport and at Fishermen's Colony, apparently targeting Hindu
s at the latter. 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.
Locations attacked included:
.
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, though the Gujarat government denies such a connection.
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. 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.
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. 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.
court. Many of the 100 are still missing including the main conspirators and masterminds of the attacks – Tiger Memon
and Dawood Ibrahim
. On 12 September 2006, the special TADA court hearing the case convicted four members of the Memon family for their involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings.
Three other members of the Memon family were acquitted by the special TADA court with the judge giving them the benefit of doubt. The four members of the Memon family are being held after being found guilty on charges of conspiring and abetting acts of terror. 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. 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.
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.
Two of the accused, Mohammed Umar Khatlab and Badshah Khan (pseudonym given by the prosecution to hide his real identity) turned state approvers.
Dawood Ibrahim
, believed to have masterminded the terrorist attacks, is the Don of the Mumbai organised crime syndicate D-Company
, largely consisting of Muslim
s. He is suspected of having connections to several Pakistan based terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda
and its leader, Osama bin Laden
, as well as Lashkar-e-Toiba
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
. He has been in hiding since the blasts and is believed to be hiding in Pakistan
, which the Pakistani government denies. The Bush administration
in the United States imposed sanctions on Ibrahim in 2006.
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.
. The prosecution has sought a lesser sentence for him.
named Black Friday. Babu Janardhanan's upcoming Mammootty
-starrer Malayalam film entitled 1993 Bombay, March 12
is also based on the bomb blasts.
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
s that took place in Bombay
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
(now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on Friday, 12 March 1993. The coordinated attacks were the most destructive bomb explosions in Indian history. The single-day attacks resulted in up to 250 fatalities and 700 injuries.
The attacks were coordinated by Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim , also known as Dawood Ebrahim, and Sheikh Dawood Hassan, is the head of the organized crime syndicate [[D-Company]] in Mumbai. He is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting. He was No. 4 on the Forbes' World's Top 10 most dreaded criminals...
, don of the Bombay-based international organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
syndicate named D-Company
D-Company
D-Company is a term coined by the media for the criminal organization and terrorist group headed by wanted terrorist leader and crime boss Dawood Ibrahim....
, which had also operated as a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
organization.
Ibrahim is believed to have ordered and helped organize the bombings in Bombay, through one of his subordinates, Tiger Memon
Tiger Memon
Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razak Nadim Memon better known by his nickname Tiger Memon is an Indian gangster and the prime suspect in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case and is wanted by Interpol and the CBI. He is a member of the D-Company gang and is a trusted lieutenant of its leader, Dawood Ibrahim...
. 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
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
(ISI), in the blasts. Several of the terrorists received arms, ammunition and explosives training in Pakistan, or were recruited from Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, UAE.
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 between December 1992 and January 1993, in the fall-out of the demolition of the Babri Mosque
Babri Mosque
The Babri Mosque , was a mosque in Ayodhya, a city in the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh, on Ramkot Hill . It was destroyed in 1992 when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people, despite a commitment to the Indian Supreme Court by the rally organisers that the mosque...
.
Background
In December 1992 and January 1993, there was widespread rioting in Mumbai following the 6 December destruction of the Babri MosqueBabri Mosque
The Babri Mosque , was a mosque in Ayodhya, a city in the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh, on Ramkot Hill . It was destroyed in 1992 when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people, despite a commitment to the Indian Supreme Court by the rally organisers that the mosque...
in Ayodhya by extremist Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
organisations. Although there was no loss of life in the incident at the Babri Mosque, a series of riots
Bombay Riots
The Bombay Riots usually refers to the riots in Mumbai, in December 1992 and January 1993, in which around 900 people died. An estimated 575 Muslims and 275 Hindus died, and 2,000 people were injured in the riots. . An investigative commission was formed under Justice B.N. Srikrishna, but the...
soon erupted throughout the nation, most notably in Bombay (now Mumbai). 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
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, in the riots.
Confession of Gul Mohammed
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 MemonTiger Memon
Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razak Nadim Memon better known by his nickname Tiger Memon is an Indian gangster and the prime suspect in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case and is wanted by Interpol and the CBI. He is a member of the D-Company gang and is a trusted lieutenant of its leader, Dawood Ibrahim...
and sent to Pakistan via Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
on 19 February 1993, for training of the use of arms and bomb making.
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
Bombay Stock Exchange
The Bombay Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located on Dalal Street, Mumbai and is the oldest stock exchange in Asia. The equity market capitalization of the companies listed on the BSE was 1.63 trillion as of December 2010, making it the 4th largest stock exchange in Asia and the 8th largest...
, Sahar International Airport and the Shiv Sena Bhavan. However, his conspiracy claim was dismissed by the police as "mere bluff".
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.
The bombings
At 1:30 p.m. a powerful car bombCar bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
exploded in the basement of the Bombay Stock Exchange
Bombay Stock Exchange
The Bombay Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located on Dalal Street, Mumbai and is the oldest stock exchange in Asia. The equity market capitalization of the companies listed on the BSE was 1.63 trillion as of December 2010, making it the 4th largest stock exchange in Asia and the 8th largest...
building. The 28-story office building housing the exchange was severely damaged, and many nearby office buildings also suffered some damage. About 50 were killed by this explosion. About 30 minutes later, another car bomb exploded elsewhere in the city, and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. a total of 13 bombs exploded throughout Bombay. Most of the bombs were car bombs, but some were in scooters.
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. Banks, the regional passport office, hotels, the Air India
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
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. Grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s were also thrown at Sahar International Airport and at Fishermen's Colony, apparently targeting Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s at the latter. 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.
Locations attacked included:
- Fisherman's Colony in Mahim causeway
- Zaveri Bazaar
- Plaza Cinema
- Century Bazaar
- Katha Bazaar
- Hotel Sea Rock
- Sahar Airport
- Air India BuildingAir India BuildingThe Air India Building is a 24-storey commercial tower on Marine Drive in Nariman Point, Mumbai, India. The building serves as the corporate headquarters for the airline, Air India.-History:...
- Hotel Juhu Centaur
- Plaza Theatre near Shiv Sena HQ
- Lucky Petrol near Shiv Sena HQ
- Worli
- Bombay Stock ExchangeBombay Stock ExchangeThe Bombay Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located on Dalal Street, Mumbai and is the oldest stock exchange in Asia. The equity market capitalization of the companies listed on the BSE was 1.63 trillion as of December 2010, making it the 4th largest stock exchange in Asia and the 8th largest...
Building - Hotel Centaur, Santa Cruz
- Area opposite of Century Bazaar
- Passport Office
Aftermath
The official number of dead was 257 with 1,400 others injured (some news sources say 317 people died; this is due to a bomb which killed 60 in Calcutta on 17 March). 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 IbrahimDawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim , also known as Dawood Ebrahim, and Sheikh Dawood Hassan, is the head of the organized crime syndicate [[D-Company]] in Mumbai. He is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting. He was No. 4 on the Forbes' World's Top 10 most dreaded criminals...
.
On 25 August 2003, two large and destructive bombs left in taxis exploded in south Mumbai – the Gateway of India
Gateway of India
Its design is a combination of both Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, the arch is in Muslim style while the decorations are in Hindu style. The Gateway is built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete. The stone was locally obtained, and the perforated screens were brought from Gwalior.The...
and Zaveri Bazaar
Zaveri Bazaar
Zaveri Bazaar is a jewelry market and a major hub for B2B jewelry industry in Mumbai, India. Located at Bhuleshwar in South Mumbai, just north of Crawford Market, Zaveri Bazaar is a muddle of narrow lanes, dotted with hundreds of jewelry shops that sell gems and jewels, notably Tribhovandas Bhimji...
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
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistani-based, militant Islamic group established by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000...
and Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
, were found to be responsible for the attacks. Along with the July 2006 train bombings
11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings
The 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains...
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, though the Gujarat government denies such a connection.
On 11 July 2006, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra during the blasts, Sharad Pawar
Sharad Pawar
Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar , popularly known as SAHEB , is the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
, 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. 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.
The bombings also caused a major rift within the D-Company
D-Company
D-Company is a term coined by the media for the criminal organization and terrorist group headed by wanted terrorist leader and crime boss Dawood Ibrahim....
, the most powerful criminal organization in the Mumbai underworld headed by Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim , also known as Dawood Ebrahim, and Sheikh Dawood Hassan, is the head of the organized crime syndicate [[D-Company]] in Mumbai. He is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting. He was No. 4 on the Forbes' World's Top 10 most dreaded criminals...
. Infuriated at the bombings, Ibrahim's right hand man Chotta Rajan split from the organization, taking most of the leadership-level Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
aides such as Sadhu Shetty
Sadhu Shetty
Sadanand Nathu Shetty , better known by his nickname Sadhu Shetty, was a notorious Indian extortionist, criminal-politician and underworld don, based in Mumbai.-Varadarajan Mudaliar gang:...
, 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. 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.
Arrests, convictions and verdict
Many hundreds of people were arrested and detained in Indian courts. In 2006, 100 of the 129 finally accused were found to be guilty and were convicted by the specially designated TADATerrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, commonly known as TADA, was an Indian law active between 1985 and 1995 for the prevention of terrorist activities in Punjab. It came into effect on 23 May 1985. It was renewed in 1989, 1991 and 1993 before being allowed to lapse in 1995 due to increasing...
court. Many of the 100 are still missing including the main conspirators and masterminds of the attacks – Tiger Memon
Tiger Memon
Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razak Nadim Memon better known by his nickname Tiger Memon is an Indian gangster and the prime suspect in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case and is wanted by Interpol and the CBI. He is a member of the D-Company gang and is a trusted lieutenant of its leader, Dawood Ibrahim...
and Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim , also known as Dawood Ebrahim, and Sheikh Dawood Hassan, is the head of the organized crime syndicate [[D-Company]] in Mumbai. He is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting. He was No. 4 on the Forbes' World's Top 10 most dreaded criminals...
. On 12 September 2006, the special TADA court hearing the case convicted four members of the Memon family for their involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings.
Three other members of the Memon family were acquitted by the special TADA court with the judge giving them the benefit of doubt. The four members of the Memon family are being held after being found guilty on charges of conspiring and abetting acts of terror. 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. 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
Tiger Memon
Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razak Nadim Memon better known by his nickname Tiger Memon is an Indian gangster and the prime suspect in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case and is wanted by Interpol and the CBI. He is a member of the D-Company gang and is a trusted lieutenant of its leader, Dawood Ibrahim...
, was charged for possession of unauthorised arms. After the blasts, family members of Tiger, including Yakub, escaped from Bombay to Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Correspondents say Tiger Memon owned a restaurant in Bombay and was allegedly closely associated with Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim , also known as Dawood Ebrahim, and Sheikh Dawood Hassan, is the head of the organized crime syndicate [[D-Company]] in Mumbai. He is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting. He was No. 4 on the Forbes' World's Top 10 most dreaded criminals...
, the chief suspect.
Except for Tiger and his brother Ayub, the entire family returned to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and were prompty arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
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.
Two of the accused, Mohammed Umar Khatlab and Badshah Khan (pseudonym given by the prosecution to hide his real identity) turned state approvers.
Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim , also known as Dawood Ebrahim, and Sheikh Dawood Hassan, is the head of the organized crime syndicate [[D-Company]] in Mumbai. He is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting. He was No. 4 on the Forbes' World's Top 10 most dreaded criminals...
, believed to have masterminded the terrorist attacks, is the Don of the Mumbai organised crime syndicate D-Company
D-Company
D-Company is a term coined by the media for the criminal organization and terrorist group headed by wanted terrorist leader and crime boss Dawood Ibrahim....
, largely consisting of Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s. He is suspected of having connections to several Pakistan based terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and its leader, Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, as well as Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
and was declared a terrorist by the governments of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 2003. Ibrahim is now wanted by Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
as a part of the worldwide terror syndicate of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
. He has been in hiding since the blasts and is believed to be hiding in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, which the Pakistani government denies. The Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
in the United States imposed sanctions on Ibrahim in 2006.
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.
The Memons
- Yakub MemonYakub MemonYakub Memon is a chartered accountant who is convicted in 1993 Bombay bombings case.He is a brother of Ibrahim Mushtaq 'Tiger' Memon, one of the prime accused of the attacks which killed 257 people.-Personal history:...
has spent approximately 15+ years in prison. He was sentenced to death by hangingHangingHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
by the JudgeJudgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, Ashish Roy Pillai.- Convicted for conspiracy.
- Arranging finance and managing its disbursement through co-accused, Mulchand Shah and from a firm, Tejarath International, owned by absconding accused, and brother, Ayub Memon to achieve objectives of conspiracy.
- Arranged for air tickets through Altafali Mushtaqali Sayyed, East West travels for the youths who were sent for arms and ammunition training to Pakistan. Also made arrangements for their lodging and boarding.
- Purchased motor vehicles which were used while planting bombs.
- Requested co-accused, Amjadali Meherbux and Altafali Sayyed, to store suitcases containing arms, ammunition, hand grenades and detonators.
- Essa and Yusuf Memon, brothers of Yakub.
- Both were charged for allowing their flat in Al-Hussaini building, Mahim to be used for hosting conspiracy meetings as well as storage of arms and explosives.
- Essa has already spent about 13 years in prison. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the bombings on October 2006.
- Yusuf is a chronic schizophrenia patient, but has spent less than a year in prison. He had also allowed use of his van for planting bombs. Yusuf was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the attacks, but granted bail on medical grounds stipulating that he would remain in hospital for treatment.
- 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.
- Three members of the Memon family - Suleiman, Hanifa and Raheen were acquitted with the judge giving them the benefit of doubt.
The Planters
Prosecution has sought the death sentence for all except Imtiaz Ghavate as he is HIV positiveHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
. The prosecution has sought a lesser sentence for him.
- Shoaib Ghansar planted an RDX-laden scooter in Zaveri Bazaar that killed 17 and injured 57 others
- 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 on 19 July 2007
- Asghar Mukadam planted an RDXRDXRDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
-laden vanCar bombA car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
in Plaza Cinema with Shahnawaz Qureshi that killed 10 and injured 37 others- Participated in the loading of RDX in vehicles, on 11 March
- Collected money from Mulchand Shah and facilitating disbursement of money to other accused
- Sentenced to death on 19 July 2007.
- Shahnawaz Qureshi planted an RDX-laden van at Plaza Cinema with Asghar Mukadam, killing 10 and injuring 37others
- Guilty of taking arms training in Pakistan via Dubai and of loading the contraband in Al-Hussaini building on 11 March 1993.
- Sentenced to death on 19 July 2007.
- 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.
- Parvez Shaikh, guilty of parking a bomb in Katha Bazaar that killed four.
- Guilty of planting bomb in Hotel Sea Rock, destroying property worth nine crores.
- Sentenced to death on 18 July 2007.
- Mohammed Iqbal Mohammed Yusuf Shaikh, convicted for throwing hand grenades in Sahar airport; parking an unexploded RDX-laden scooter in Naigaon
- Obtaining arms training in Pakistan, loading RDX in vehicles on the night of 11 March
- Sentenced to death on 20 July 2007.
- Naseem Barmare, guilty of hurling hand grenades at Sahar airport.
- Parking unexploded scooter at Naigaum.
- Acquiring weapon training in Pakistan.
- Participating in conspiracy meetings
- Preparing vehicle bombs.
- Sentenced to life imprisonment and slapped and fined Rs. 2,30,000.
- Mohammed Farooq Pawale planted an RDX-laden car at Air-India building killing 20 and injuring 84.
- Parking an RDX-laden van near Sena Bhavan with approver killing 4 and injuring 50
- Participated in arms training in Pakistan
- Participated in the landing of arms and ammunition at Shekhadi
- Sentenced to death on 25 July 2007.
- Mushtaq Tarani participated in a meeting at hotel Taj Mahal. He did a reconnaissance of the sites for the blasts.
- Planting at Hotel Juhu Centaur injuring 3 and causing loss of property worth Rs 2.10 crore
- Planting an unexploded scooter at Sheikh Memen street in Zaveri Bazaar
- Sentenced to death on 18 July 2007.
- 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.
Accused involved
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.- Bashir Khairulla convicted for his participation in arms, ammunition and explosives training conducted by Tiger Memon in Sandheri and Bhorghat
- Convicted for participating in the conspirator's meetings in the house of Mubina Baya and for participating in the filling of RDX in the vehicles.
- Sentenced to life imprisonment on 20 July 2007.
- 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
- Sentenced to death on 24 July 2007.
- Abdul Akhtar Khan convicted for taking arms, ammunition and explosives training in Pakistan.
- Sentenced to death on 24 July 2007.
- Firoz Amani Malik convicted for taking arms, ammunition and explosives training in Pakistan
- Sentenced to death on 24 July 2007.
- Moin Qureshi convicted for participating in the arms, ammunition and explosives training, participating in the conspirator's meeting and participating in the filling of RDX in vehicles on 11 March.
- Was also found guilty for being in possession of 17 hand grenades.
- Sentenced to life imprisonment on 24 July 2007.
Landing agents
- Dawood Phanse a.k.a Dawood Taklya (Dawood Baldie). He is guilty of conspiracy, organizing the landing of arms, ammunition and the nearly 3,000 kg of RDX in 57 gunny bags at Shekhadi in Raigad district on 3 and 7 February 1993; attending a conspiracy meeting in Dubai with Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sentenced to 14 years imprisonment as he was aware of the content of the contraband, but accquited of conspiracy. He was also fined Rs. 2,00,000, defaulting which he would have to serve three more years.
Customs officials
- S.N. Thapa, former additional customs collector, preventive
- Accused of being Guilty of conspiracy. Convicted for getting the information about the landing at Shekhadi and that the main exit point could be in Mhasla Shrivardhan area. He is alleged to have laid a trap at Purarphata on Mhasla-Goregaon road on 30 January. Besides that, his team gave up the vigil after 2 February in spite of the warnings (confessions of co-accused in TADA Court shows that landing actually took place many days after team led by Thapa had left for Mumbai) and that the smugglers, in fact, postponed the landing as they heard from sources that an ambush had been laid for them by Thapa. These accusations stand to be the same even though confessions of others convicted say otherwise. To quote "He (Phanse) also confessed that the duo (Phanse and Parkar)bribed all Customs officers except for Thapa, who incidentally is an accused in the case.". In the 10,000 page judgement copy provided, TADA Court judge, P.D. Kode resons that even though there is no direct or in-direct evidence against Mr. S.N. Thapa, he is awarded a term of life imprisonment because he was the seniormost customs officer and thus must be knowing about the conspiracy. Till his last days, Thapa proclaimed his innocence and was confident that the greater conspiracy of his wrongful arrest,trial and conviction would be unveiled in the Supreme Court who, in 1994 granted him bail after going through all evidence stating that there is no direct or in-direct evidence to prove that Mr. S.N. Thapa was part in planning, landing or transportation of contraband substances nor that was he aware of any such conspiracy for blasts in Mumbai.
- S.N. Thapa died due to lung cancer on 11 April 2008. His family expressed hopes that the supreme court will entertain their quest for the truth.
- R K Singh, Former assistant commissioner of customs,
- convicted for facilitating RDX landing in Shekhadi after accepting bribe of more than 7.8 lakh Rupees.
- Had meetings with the accused.
- Mohammed Sultan Sayyed, former customs superintendent.
- Convicted for facilitating RDX landing in Shekhadi after accepting bribe of more than 7.8 lakh.
- Had attended meetings with the accused.
- Jaywant Gurav, former customs inspector.
- Convicted for allowing passage of RDX from Raigad to Mumbai
- S S Talwadekar, former customs superintendent.
- Convicted for allowing passage of RDX from Raigad to Mumbai
Policemen
- Vijay Patil, ex police sub-inspector
- Guilty of conspiracy and taking bribe to allow passage of RDX from Raigad to Mumbai
- Has been sentenced to life imprisonment and 1 lakh rupees fine by TADA court on 22 May 2007
- Ashok Muleshwar, P M Mahadik, Ramesh Mali and S Y Palshikar; all Police Constables
- Guilty of allowing passage of RDX of arms from Raigad to Mumbai.
- All four sentenced by TADA court to six years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000 each on 21 May 2007
Sanjay Dutt and friends
- Sanjay DuttSanjay DuttSanjay Dutt is an Indian Hindi film actor and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981.-Personal life:...
, 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 sentenced 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
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. 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.
Popular culture
S. Hussain Zaidi released a book by the name of Black Friday - The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts about the 1993 Bombay bombings. It was later made into a film in 2004 by Indian film maker Anurag KashyapAnurag Kashyap (director)
Anurag Singh Kashyap is an Indian film director and screenwriter. As a director, he is known for Black Friday , a controversial and award-winning Hindi film about the 1993 Bombay bombings, followed by No Smoking , Dev D and Gulaal...
named Black Friday. Babu Janardhanan's upcoming Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
-starrer Malayalam film entitled 1993 Bombay, March 12
1993 Bombay, March 12
-Critical reception:The film received positive reviews upon release.But did not make a big move in box office.Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com said, "Bombay March 12 is a promising debut for scriptwriter Babu Janardhanan as a director." He rated the film three in a scale of five . Mammootty's...
is also based on the bomb blasts.
See also
- 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombingsThe 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains...
- 2011 Mumbai bombings2011 Mumbai bombingsThe 2011 Mumbai bombings were a series of three coordinated bomb explosions at different locations in Mumbai, India, on 13 July 2011 between 18:54 and 19:06 IST...
- 2008 Mumbai attacks2008 Mumbai attacksThe 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
- Ayodhya debateAyodhya debateThe Ayodhya dispute is a political, historical and socio-religious debate in India, centred on a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya, located in Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh...
- Black Friday (2004 film) based on the events leading to and the aftermath of the bomb blasts.
- P. D. KodeP. D. KodeP. D. Kode is the designated judge of the TADA court that dealt with the 1993 Bombay Bombings case. The case is the longest criminal case in India's history. Judge Kode allowed some of the accused to go on the Haj pilgrimage. He took no leave from March 1996 until June 2007...