1993 Mumbai blasts case: 4 accused sent to 14-day judicial custody; CBI takes over probe

In a major breakthrough in the 1993 serial Mumbai blasts case, a special CBI court remanded the four accused to judicial custody for 14 days. The four accused - Abu Bakar, Yusuf Bhatka, Shoib Qureshi also known as Shoib Baba and Sayyed Qureshi were arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on May 17. The accused were later handed over to the CBI who will now probe the case.

1993 blast accused sent to judicial custody

In a press briefing, Gujarat ATS said, “On 12 March 1993, there were 12 bomb blasts in 12 different areas of Mumbai. The blasts shattered the entire city. Almost 300 people were killed and more than 700 were injured. This was one of the most terrifying days in Indian history.”

“In 1993, Maharashtra Police sent the case to CBI. Chargesheet of 190 people was circulated. However, some accused fled from India to middle east countries. The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad was informed of 4 accused roaming with forged passports. After a thorough investigation, Gujarat ATS arrested them from the Sardar Nagar area for their involvement in the Mumbai blast case,” it added. 

It is pertinent to mention here that the arrested individuals were wanted in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case. The series of blasts in the city killed around 300 people and left around 1400 injured. The ATS and other agencies have been probing the blasts, which was one of the worst terror attacks in India.

It should also be noted that several accused in the case have already been booked and granted sentences as well. However, there are several accused conspirators and close aides of Dawood Ibrahim, who are yet to be nabbed.

NIA crackdown on Dawood-gang

In a related development, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) held a major crackdown on the D-Gang in Mumbai. Republic TV accessed details of aides of Pakistan-based gangster-terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, who were raided on May 9. As per the details accessed, the 13 people raided by the Central agency included gangsters linked to the 1993 Bombay serial bomb blasts case.

Notably, the NIA had lodged an FIR against D-company in February 2022 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). As per the FIR registered on February 3, Dawood Ibrahim has been accused of running an international terrorist network D-Company that is involved in a number of criminal activities.

It is to be noted that Ibrahim, who is charged with arms smuggling, narco-terrorism, the underworld crime syndicate, money laundering, circulation of FICN, and unauthorised possession of assets for raising terror funds, remains the most wanted in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case.

(Image: Shutterstock/RepublicWorld)