The Scars of Black Friday: 31 Years On, Remembering the 1993 Mumbai Blasts – News18

The 1993 bombings, that changed Mumbai (then known as Bombay) forever, brought the city’s some of the most iconic buildings, including the Bombay Stock Exchange, to their knees. A series of nightmerish bomb blasts took place in the afternoon of March 12, 1993, between 1:30 pm and 3:40 pm. The deadly attacks resulted in the death of at least 257 people, while hundreds more were injured.

The serial blasts were carried out by underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim, with assistance from Tiger Memon. Reportedly, Memon also allowed his flats and garage in Mumbai for terrorist activities. Believed to be one of the biggest terror attacks on Indian soil till the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 1993 bombings were also the first attack in which RDX was used as an explosive material.

March 12, 2024, marks the 31st anniversary of the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. As India looks back on the terrifying day three decades back, here is a look at all the major details that you should know about the explosions.

1993 Mumbai Bomb Blasts: What Happened?

On December 6, 1992, Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya, which sparked widespread violence across the country. In order to avenge the demolition, Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon hatched a conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack in Mumbai.

After holding a slew of meetings at multiple places across the country and abroad, and delivery of arms and ammunition from Dubai and Pakistan, bombs were planted in Mumbai, leading to a series of explosions that shook the financial hub of India to its core.

Some of the major spots that became a target of the terror attacks were the Bombay Stock Exchange building, Masjid-Mandvi Corporation Bank Branch, Zaveri Bazaar, Fisherman’s Colony in Mahim Causeway, Plaza Cinema, Katha Bazaar, Century Bazaar, Hotel Sea Rock, and Air India building among other places. Most of the bombs were planted in cars and scooters.

The first blast was witnessed at the basement of the Bombay Stock Exchange building at around 1:30 pm on March 12. As a result, the 28-storey building and its surrounding structures were completely damaged leaving 50 people killed.

Over the next two hours till 3:40 pm, more blasts were reported from various locations in the city at regular intervals, triggering widespread chaos.

1993 Serial Blasts: Investigation Timeline

While Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon managed to elude the police and enforcement agencies, Tiger’s brother Yakub Memon was arrested in 1994. He was found guilty of conspiring, organising, funding training, and buying cars for the blasts. He was convicted and awarded a death sentence in July 2007.

Yakub was finally hanged in Nagpur Central Jail on July 30, 2015.

Around 193 people were detained by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch and a Special Task Force led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). While around 140 of them were put on trial, a few of them died during the course. Some 100 out of the suspected accused who faced trial were found guilty, whereas 23 were acquitted.

In June 2017, a special court found six prime suspects guilty of planning these attacks, including Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Mohammed Dossa, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Karimullah Sheikh, and Tahir Merchant in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blast case.

The deadly blasts, that took place three decades back, played a key role in exploding D Company’s nexus with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The prime suspects in the blasts, Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim, still continue to remain at large.