In a major development, the Gujarat ATS has nabbed 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts accused Munaf Halari Moosa at the Mumbai airport earlier today. As per reports, Moosa was living in Nairobi under an alias Mohammad Anwar Hajri, under a Pakistani passport. He was accused of planting bombs at Zaveri Bazaar.
#BREAKING – Gujarat arrested 1993 Mumbai blast wanted Munaf Moosa. He was living in Nairobi on a Pak passport.
Original input: @manojkumargupta, @vinivdvc with details. pic.twitter.com/OxPj5F3fLg
— News18 (@CNNnews18) February 10, 2020
Moosa was one of the main accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. As per his profile in the CBI database, Musa had procured three scooters and loaded them with explosives. One of the scooters had exploded at Zaveri Bazar, while the other two exploded scooters were recovered from Naigaum Cross Road in Dadar, Mumbai.
As per reports, Moosa was also wanted for in involvement in international drug rackets. He was also allegedly involved in a case where narcotics worth Rs 1500 crores were captured last year.
As many as twelve serial blasts in a span of two hours had taken place in Mumbai on 12 March 1993. The blasts killed 257 people and injured 713 others. The blasts took place at Bombay Stock Exchange, Katha Bazaar, a petrol pump near Sena Bhavan, opposite Passport office near Century Bazaar, Fishermen’s colony at Mahim Causeway, at the basement of Air India Building, Zaveri Bazaar, Hotel Sea Rock, Plaza Theatre, Centaur Hotel of Juhu, Bay No-54 of Sahar Airport and Centaur Hotel near airport.
Read: All you need to know about 1993 Mumbai blasts convicts
In June 2017, a special TADA court in Mumbai had convicted key mastermind of the blasts Mustafa Dossa, gangster Abu Salem and four others for their involvement in the blasts.
In June 2018, Gujarat ATS had nabbed another major accused named Ahmad Kamal Sheikh alias Lambu from the Valasad area. He was a key aide of Mustaffa Dossa. A few months prior to Lambu’s arrest, another key Dawood aide, Mohammad Farooq alias Takla was arrested after being extradited from UAE.
The main conspirators in the Mumbai Blasts case, Tiger Memon, Dawood Ibrahim, Anees Ibrahim and Mohammad Dossa are still wanted.