Dawood Ibrahim’s aide Mohamed Farooq alias Farooq Takla was extradited from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and brought to India on Thursday morning. He is wanted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
After the Central Bureau of Investigation interrogated him, a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities court in Mumbai remanded him in the agency’s custody till March 19, PTI reported.
At the request of Indian authorities, the Interpol had issued a red corner notice against him in 1995. The notice is intended to locate and provisionally arrest individuals pending extradition. According to the notice, the charges that Farooq faces include criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder and voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means.
The Mumbai serial blasts
On March 12, 1993, at least 257 people were killed and over 700 injured in 12 powerful blasts across Mumbai. Orchestrated by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, the blasts were an act of revenge against the communal riots that swept through Mumbai in December 1992 and January 1993 after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. At least 900 people were killed in the riots and more than 2,000 were injured – the majority of them Muslims.
Immediately after the explosions, the state government had set up a special court under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act to hold trials in the case. So far, the Tada court has convicted 106 people for their involvement in carrying out the blasts.
In September 2017, a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activity court in Mumbai sentenced Abu Salem to life in connection with the case. Karimullah Khan, another convict in the case, also got life imprisonment. Tahir Merchant and Firoz Khan were sentenced to death, and Riyaz Siddiqui was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In June 2017, the court had found Salem and Mustafa Dossa guilty for the blasts, and had acquitted Abdul Qayoom. Dossa, who had been held responsible for acquiring weapons used in the attacks from Pakistan, died later that month. Yakub Memon, one of the convicts, was hanged in July 2015. Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was also convicted for his involvement and served jail term first during the trial and then from 2013 to 2016.
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