A chilling reconstruction of a late-night meeting in January 1993 at fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s Dubai residence, which was anchored in the confessional statement of a now-deceased accused, became a key reference statement for the Special TADA Court in Jamnagar that on Monday convicted 12 individuals in a case related to the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai.
The meeting had set in motion a conspiracy to avenge the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition by unleashing coordinated terror on the “Hindu community” neighbourhoods in India, with a detailed plan to land RDX, automatic weapons and grenades on the Gujarat coast; the weapons were sourced from Pakistan, as per the 1994 confessional statement of Usmangani Noor Mohammad Merchant. Usmangani, who was in the “inner circles” of Dawood, was present at the said meeting.
Special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act Judge RP Mogera noted that Usmangani, while recording his confessional statement, had stated that “his conscience feels that he must tell the whole truth about the conspiracy that was hatched in Dubai in January 1993.”
The court held that although Usmangani died during the course of the trial, his confessional statement “satisfies that it was recorded without any force or coercion and after following the due process of the law…can be utilised in evidence”. The statement was recorded by Rajkumar James Benjamin, then the DIG of Rajkot Range.
In his statement, Usmangani had said that he came in contact with Tiger Memon as the latter used to visit Dubai and attend parties arranged by Dawood Ibrahim, where he had also met other elements of the smuggling cartel of the “D-gang”, such as Abdul Wahab Latif and Karim Lala, as well as his nephews from Salaya in Gujarat. “I was among the ten people who attended the meeting at the Dubai residence of Dawood Ibrahim between January 11 and 15, where the revenge was planned.”
“The meeting started at about 11.00-11.30 pm and lasted till 2.30 am. In the meeting, it was discussed that Hindus had committed atrocities on Muslims in Bombay and other places in India. Therefore, revenge is to be taken, and something is to be done in retaliation…” as per the statement.
In his confession, Usmangani narrated Dawood Ibrahim stating that “arms, explosives, automatic rifles, cartridges and hand grenades, etc. had been received from Pakistan to take revenge on Hindus,” and that the weapons “had been sent to India in the launches of Mustafa Majnu (Mustafa Dossa, now-deceased gangster)”.
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Usmangani further said that Dawood had said in the meeting that men might be sent for training in handling arms and ammunitions in Pakistan. “Tiger Memon, Anees Ibrahim, and Chotta Shakeel took the responsibility of lifting and distribution of arms and ammunition. Tiger Memon, Hazi Ahmed Memon, Chotta Shakeel, Anees Ibrahim, Ezaz Pathan, and [Dossa] took the responsibility of arranging manpower and assured [Dawood] that they would send men who could be trained in Pakistan.”
Usmangani said in the meeting, it was also discussed that “the arms will be used in the Hindu-dominated localities”, with Dossa informing others that the “arms had already reached India”. Usmangani stated that no one present in the meeting, “including myself”, had raised any objection to the plans discussed in the meeting.
In his statement, he had said that about a week after the said meeting, he went to meet Dossa at the latter’s office, where he was allegedly told that Dossa had sent arms to India on the instructions of Dawood.
“[Dossa], however, did not discuss the destination of the arms with me… When I was sitting there, Usman, who is the captain of one of his boats, also came there and reported to [Dossa] that arms and ammunition had reached India. Then, they went to a corner to talk … Later, [Dossa] told me…that the arms were provided by the Pakistan Navy and were delivered to the boats of [Dossa] at high seas.”
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Usmangani said that Dawood never spoke to him about the arms, and Dossa, too, did not mention the topic “on a few occasions” when they met. He claimed he never met Tiger Memon after the meeting, and it was on March 12, 1993, that his mother informed him that “there were bomb blasts at a number of places in Bombay city. I also heard about this news on BBC. I could immediately connect that these explosions were a result of the meeting and the people present in the meeting were responsible for it. In the evening, I rang up [Dossa], who told me that Tiger Memon had done it…”
In his statement, Usmangani also detailed the relations Dawood had with police officers in Dubai and Pakistan, and some traders in Mumbai.
Stating that from the confessional statement of Usmangani, “it clearly appears that the conspiracy was hatched to do away the Hindu community for taking the revenge of the Babri Mosque demolition and as a part of it, launches of Mustafa Majnu (Dossa) were sent at Pakistan and prohibited arms and ammunition were obtained”, the TADA court convicted the 12 men—Osman Umar Koerja Mohammad Ali Mohammad alias Mamdu, Harun Adam Sanghar Vadher, Ahmed Ismail Oliya, Arif Abdul Rehman alias Arif Lambu Lakhani, Ifteqar Mohammad Ahmad Yunus Ansari, Mohammad Ayub Abdul Kayyum Ansari alias Ayub Taklo, Lakhman Hardas Ahir Vasra, Mohammad Salim alis Salim Kutta
Umarmiya alias Mamumiya Ismailmiyan alis Panjumiya Saiyyed Bukhari, Istiyaq Ahmad Mohammad Yunus Ansari and Kadir Ahmad Amim Ahmed Shaikh.
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While Salim Kutta and Mamumiya Panjumiya were sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, the rest were given five years of rigorous imprisonment.
During the investigation, Salim Kutta and Panjumiya were among those who facilitated the landing of weapons and explosives near the Gosabarana bridge. The police also seized AK-series rifles, 295 cartridges, and other items worth lakhs of rupees from Panjumiya.
Koerja served as the “malam” (Captain) of launch Sada Al Bahar, while Oliya was found to be in possession of 19 hand grenades and 720 AK-series rifle cartridges. Arif Lambu was found to be in possession of car no. MP-09-H-1039. Ifteqar Ansari was found to be in possession of an AK-series rifle, 90 cartridges, three AK-47 empty magazines, while Mohammad Ayub Abdul Ansari was found with two AK-series rifles, 24 hand grenades, a bomb, 1,771 cartridges and three magazines.
The court also directed that the ‘muddamal’ weapons “shall be handed over to the superintendent of police, Jamnagar, for its disposal in accordance with rules and law after expiry of the appeal period”. For muddamal vehicles, in regard with which no specific orders have been passed, the court directed the investigating officer to “inquire about the owners of such vehicles and handover the custody of the same” or dispose of the vehicles without owners in accordance with the law after expiry of the appeal period.
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Key accused
Umarmiya Mamumiya alias Panjumiya
Mamumiya Panjumiya has not recorded any confessional statement, but the court held that evidence had shown that, along with other accused persons, he was present at the seashore of Porbandar-Veraval. Co-convict Lakhman Hardas, in his confession, had said that he had procured arms and ammunition and then transferred the same truck to the house of Mamuniya. Thereafter, at the direction of Mamumiya, all the arms, cartridges, etc., were transferred from Dhoraji highway to Dadlimiya. Mamumiy, allegedly, also showed the police panchas the muddamal of arms and ammunition that landed at Gosabara. He was convicted under sections of the Arms Act.
Salim Mir Mohammad alias Salim Kutta
He did not give a confessional statement, but the confessional statements of four co-accused indicated his name in the case. Based on the confessions of Arif Lambu and Usmangiri, the court held that a clear association of Kutta with Dossa could be established and that Kutta was “actively involved in procuring and transporting of riffles, cartridges, magazine, hand-grenades and bombs to various other accused persons”. It further appears that the rifles, hand-grenades etc. which were supplied by (Kutta) were recovered from the accused persons to whom he had supplied.
Arif Abdul Rehman alias Lambu
His confessional statement, recorded by Satish Verma, shows that he was closely associated with Dossa and his brother, Mohammad, since 1989 in silver smuggling and had a prior criminal involvement, including a murder case and a firing incident. He admitted that he, along with absconding accused Afzal Garbad, transported rifles, cartridges and hand grenades obtained from co-accused Salim Kutta and Firoz at a location near the Mumbai-Goa road. They then travelled to Surat, contacted Oliya, and delivered the arms at a house near a mosque in Variav village before returning to Bombay. The court noted that his possession and transportation of a large quantity of prohibited arms and ammunition clearly indicated his involvement in the larger conspiracy with other accused to facilitate terrorist acts.
