1993 Mumbai bombings

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1993 Mumbai Bombings
Location	Mumbai, India
Date	March 12 1993 13:30-15:40 (UTC+ 5.5)
Attack Type	Car Bombs
Fatalities	257
Injuries	1,400
Perpetrator(s)	Militant Islamic groups

The 1993 Mumbai bombings were a series of 15 bomb explosions that took place in Mumbai (Bombay), India on March 12, 1993. The attacks were the most destructive and coordinated bomb explosions in the country's history. The attacks are widely believed to be the retaliation by the Muslim underworld and militant Islamic groups for the Babri Mosque demolition in December, 1992.

1 Background
2 The bombings
3 Arrests, Convictions and Verdict
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Background

In December 1992 and January 1993 there was widespread rioting in Mumbai following the destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu groups. Although there was no loss of life in the incident, between January 1 and 5, Mumbai witnessed a series of riots in which 1,788^{[citation needed]} (official figures) people lost their lives.

[edit] The bombings

At 1:30 p.m. a powerful car bomb 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, an airline office (the Air India Building), and a major shopping complex were also hit. Bombs exploded at Zaveri Bazar, Century Bazar, Katha Bazar, Shiv Sena Bhawan, and Plaza Theatre. A jeep-bomb at the Century Bazar exploded early, thwarting another attack. Grenades were also thrown at Sahar International Airport and at Fishermen's Colony, apparently targeting Hindus 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. Almost all those killed were Hindus.

[edit] Arrests, Convictions and Verdict

The special TADA court hearing the long-drawn 1993 Mumbai blasts case on September 12, 2006 convicted four members of the Memon family - Yakub, Essa, Rubina and Yusuf.

Three other members of the Memon family - Suleiman, Hanifa and Rahil - have, however, been acquitted with the judge giving them the benefit of doubt. The four Memons have been held guilty on charges of conspiring and abetting acts of terror. They face jail terms ranging from a minimum of five years to life imprisonment. On Wednesday, 13Sep,TADA court announced that it would start pronouncing verdict beginning Thursday on 31 accused charged with transporting and planting bombs to effect the 1993 serial blasts. These include Mohammed Shoaib Ghansar, accused of planting a bomb in Zaveri Bazaar. All these accused are presently lodged in jail.

Yakub Memon, the brother of prime accused Tiger Memon, has been charged for possession of unauthorised arms. The complete verdict in the case will be delivered in batches in a staggered manner over a period of four weeks.

Yakub Memon is younger brother of prime accused and conspirator Tiger Memon. After the blasts, the family members of Tiger, including Yakub, had escaped to Dubai and from Mumbai to Pakistan. Correspondents say Tiger Memon owned a restaurant in Mumbai and was allegedly closely associated with Dawood Ibrahim, the chief suspect[1].

Except Tiger and his brother Ayub, the entire family returned to India and arrested by CBI in 1994. Since then Yakub has been in custody and is undergoing treatment as he suffers from depression, according to his lawyer Subhash Kanse. The Menon family was tried and found guilty. The defense lawyers have asked for leniency in the sentencing and have caused delays in the process [2].

Dawood Ibrahim, believed to have masterminded the terrorist attacks, was formerly the Don of the Mumbai organized crime syndicate D-Company, largely consisting of Muslims.He is suspected of having connections to several Islamic terrorist groups [3] such as al-Qaeda and it's leader, Osama bin Laden [4], as well as Lashkar-e-Toiba [5] and was declared a terrorist by the Governments of India and the United States in 2003 . He is also wanted by Interpol[6]. He has absconded since the blasts and is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, which the Pakistani Government denies [7][8]. The Bush administration in the United States imposed sanctions on Ibrahim in 2006[9].