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1993 Mumbai blasts convict Mustafa Dossa dies of cardiac arrest

mumbaiThe mastermind behind the 1993 Mumbai blasts that killed over 200 people, Mustafa Dossa, died on Wednesday in Mumbai.

He was admitted to JJ hospital here for hypertension and diabetes after he complained of chest pain on Tuesday night. “He passed away due to a cardiac arrest on Wednesday at 2:30 pm,” said TP Lahane, JJ Hospital Dean

Ironically on Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had sought capital punishment for Dossa, arguing that his role in the blasts were “more severe” than that of hanged convict Yakub Memon. The agency had also sought gallows for another convict Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan,

In the second installment of the trial, the court on June 16 had convicted five accused, including Dossa and extradited gangster Abu Salem, under the charges of murder, conspiracy and sections of now repealed TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act), while the sixth accused Riyaz Siddiqui was convicted only under TADA Act.

The trial of the seven accused — Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Tahir Merchant and Abdul Quayyum — was separated from the main case as they were arrested at the time of conclusion of the main trial. The court acquitted Abdul Quayyum of all the charges.

As many as 257 people were killed in the coordinated blasts that ripped through the city on March 12, 1993. It was the first-ever terrorist attack globally where RDX was used on large scale seriously injuring 713 and destroying properties worth Rs 27 crore.

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