published by, Nibandh Vinod
Last Update: March 12, 2023, 06:30 AM IST
On this day in 1993, terror gripped Mumbai. (file photo)
On this day in 1993: 12 blasts rocked one after the other in some of the city’s busiest public places. At least 257 people were killed in these blasts, while more than 700 people were injured.
1993 Bombay Blast Anniversary: On this day in 1993, India’s bustling financial capital, then reeling from the scars of communal violence, lay under a veil of terror. Twelve explosions rocked some of the city’s busiest public places in quick succession. At least 257 people were killed in these blasts, while more than 700 people were injured. As Bombay (now Mumbai) pulled together the shattered pieces of its soul, the name of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, looming heavier than ever, hung over the city like a dark cloud.
background
In December 1992, following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, riots broke out in Mumbai. With the beginning of the new year, they became furious. It took almost two months for the situation to return to normal.
explosion
- The first blast took place on March 12, 1993 at around 1.30 p.m. The target was the crown of the financial centre: the Bombay Stock Exchange. The attack was carried out using a powerful car bomb – a tactic that the city was to see more of over the next two hours and 10 minutes.
- The next blast occurred about half an hour later. This time the Mandvi branch of Corporation Bank was engulfed in flames.
- Over the next hour and 40 minutes, bombs strapped to cars, scooters and suitcases were triggered every 15–30 minutes using timers.
- The blasts targeted Plaza Cinema, Fisherman’s Colony at Mahim Causeway, Hotel Sea Rock, Air India Building, Zaveri Bazaar, Hotel Juhu Centaur, Century Bazaar, Katha Bazaar, Passport Office at Worli and Sahar Airport.
- This was the first time that RDX was used to make bombs in India.
fatal mistake
Three days before the blasts, on 9 March, the police arrested Gul Mohammed Sheikh alias Gullu, who confessed that he was part of a conspiracy to carry out bombings at various locations across Mumbai. The Mumbai Police reportedly dismissed it as a hoax.
Investigation
Rakesh Maria, the then Deputy Commissioner of Police, formed a task force of over 150 personnel. Reports suggest that the matter was resolved within the next 48 hours.
By November that year, the Bombay Crime Branch filed a preliminary charge sheet. The names of 189 convicts were there in this document of 10,000 pages. His trial began only in 2003. In 2006, Yakub Memon, Tiger Memon and two of his family members were found guilty.
In its judgments between 2011-2013, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentences of 10 convicts to life imprisonment. It upheld life imprisonment for 16 of the 18 convicts. Yakub Memon was sentenced to death. He was hanged in 2015. Yusuf Memon died in Nashik jail during his imprisonment.
In 2017, a special court found six key suspects guilty of planning these attacks. These were Abu Salem, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Mustafa Dossa, Tahir Merchant, Riyaz Siddiqui and Karimullah Sheikh. Four more people wanted in the case—Abu Bakar, Sayyed Qureshi, Mohd Shoaib Qureshi, and Mohd Yusuf Ismail—were arrested in Gujarat in 2022.
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