After 26 Yrs, Key Suspect In 1993 Mumbai Serial Blast Held In UAE

Indian agencies have apprehended a key 1993 Mumbai serial blast accused, 51-year-old Abu Bakar Sheikh on February 13 in the United Arab Emirates. He was detained in UAE on inputs that were provided by Indian security agencies and is likely to be deported soon.

Mumbai serial blast accused apprehended

Reportedly, Abu Bakar was a central Mumbai resident and had undergone training at Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) before the Mumbai attacks and brought RDX and other explosives. India Today reported that he conspired with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim at his residence in Dubai. Along with Bakar, the Indian authorities also apprehended another accused, Firoz in connection to the blast case. Upon his arrival in India, Bakar will be taken to a trial court in Mumbai and will be taken into custody by the CBI.

Sources have told The Times Of India that his name came up during the investigations and in the statements of several others who were accused. This prompted the Indian intelligence agencies to issue a Red Corner Notice in 1997. The probes have further found that Bakar attended several meetings prior to the blasts, where prime accused Dawood Ibrahim was also in attendance. Before the blasts, a group of youths went to Pakistan where they learnt how to work firearm and explosives.

Bakar is thought to be a part of this group, and after the blasts, he allegedly never returned to India. He has been alleged to have been part of a team which helped to smuggle explosives to Dighi jetty from where other plotters smuggled them into the city. In the 80s, he had joined the Dossa brothers who are also accused in the Mumbai blast case and Bakar also used to smuggle electronics and goods from the middle east.

The Mumbai serial blasts were one of the deadliest terror attacks in India. 12 blasts took place in different locations across the city which killed 257 people and left many others injured. The TADA court in 2007 had sentenced 12 accused to death sentences and Yaqub Memon is one such accused who was executed in 2015.

Also Read: Yakub Memon: A Journey From Mumbai Bomb Blasts To Gallows