The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday filed a supplementary charge-sheet against a recently arrested accused, Ahmed Kamal Shaikh alias Ahmed Lambum alias Khalid Kamal Shaikh, for his alleged role in the conspiracy behind the March 12, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
In the supplementary charge-sheet filed before the designated TADA court here, the CBI stated that Shaikh had been absconding since the 1993 blasts but was arrested on June 1 this year.
Shaikh had been declared a proclaimed offender by designated TADA court here and a non-bailable arrest warrant had also been issued against him on September 17, 1997. Subsequently a Red Corner Notice was also issued against him by the Interpol.
The CBI’s investigations revealed that Shaikh was part of the criminal conspiracy hatched to engineer blasts in Mumbai.
Shaikh had gone to Dubai and worked in close association with several other prime absconders like Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, Tiger Memon and others.
Incidentally, Shaikh is the second absconding accused arrested by the CBI this year. Earlier in March this year, the CBI had arrested Dawood Ibrahim’s close aide Mohammed Farooq Yasin Mansoor alias Farooq Takla for his alleged role as a key conspirator in the March 12, 1993 serial bombings. The CBI filed a supplementary charge-sheet against Farooq Takla in the TADA court here the second week of August this year.
As many as 257 persons were killed and 713 others injured in the serial explosions that rocked the country’s commercial capital on March 12, 1993. Property worth Rs 27 crore was destroyed in the blasts.
The serial blasts were the outcome of a larger conspiracy hatched in Dubai, Mumbai and other places in India. Initially, the investigation was conducted by Mumbai Police. In all 27 crimes were registered at various police stations. On November 4, 1993, the Mumbai Crime Branch had filed a consolidated charge sheet before a special court.
The trial involving the first set of 123 accused had begun in 1995 and concluded in 2002. Having begun to pronounce the judgements in the first phase of the trial on September 12, 2006, then designated Judge P D Kode completed the first phase of verdicts on December 6, 2006.
Of the 123 who faced the trial, 100 were convicted and 23 acquitted. Of the 100 convicted, Judge Kode awarded capital punishment to 12 and life imprisonment to 20. Rest of the convicts were handed sentenced to periods ranging from two years to 14 years. Only one of the 100 convicts – that is Russi Mulla – was set free by the court by giving him relief under the Probation of Offenders Act (POA).
Of the 12 convicts who were handed capital punishment in the first phase of the 1993 serial blasts trial, Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon was hanged to death at the Nagpur Central Prison on July 30, 2015.
In the second phase of 1993 serial blasts trial, there were in all seven accused Mustafa Ahmed Dossa (deported from Dubai), Abu Salem (extradited from Portugal), Riyaz Ahmed Siddhiqui, Abdul Kayyum; Karrimullah Osan Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan and Taher Merchant @ Taher Taklya ( all extradited from Dubai).
On September 7 last year, a designated TADA Court here handed out death sentence to two convicts Taher Merchant and Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan and life imprisonment to extradited underworld don Abu Salem and another convict Karrimullah Osan Khan. The TADA court sentenced the fifth convict in the case Riyaz Ahmed Siddhiqi to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment.
Of the six accused who had earlier been convicted by the TADA court on June 16 last year, notorious smuggler and key convict Mustafa Dossa alias Mustafa Majnu died of a massive heart attack at the State-run JJ Hospital here on June 28. The court had earlier on June 16 acquitted seventh accused in the case, Abdul Kayyum for lack of evidence.
With both of them having been charge-sheeted, Shaikh and Farooq Takla will undergo trial in what can be called as the third phase of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts trial.