Security beefed up in Mumbai on eve of 1993 serial bomb blasts

Mumbai, Mar 11 (UNI) Security has been beefed in the metropolis on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the serial bomb blasts that rocked the city on March 12, 1993 in which 257 people were killed and 713 injured.

Policemen have been deployed outside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building, Vidhan Bhavan, Mantralaya, BARC, Siddhivinayak and Mahalaxmi temples and other important places in the city, including Western and Central Railway headquarters and domestic and international airports, to ensure that the day passes without any untoward incident.

Eight months have passed since the verdict by special TADA court in the serial bomb blasts, in which 100 people were convicted, including Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, for their involvement in the ghastly act. Two of the 100 convicted have died during the pendency of the biggest trial in Indian judicial history. Twenty-three people were acquitted.

The bomb blasts shook the commercial capital of the country, preceded the December 1992-January 1993 communal riots. The blasts were engineered by fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and smuggler Tiger Memon at the behest of ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency.

The process of delivery of judgement commenced on September 12, 2006 and Judge P D Kode presided over a designated court. Those found guilty included members of the Memon family and others who planted the bombs.

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