Mumbai blasts lawyer Memon survives bid

Noted criminal lawyer Majid Memon, who has handled several terrorism-related cases including the 1993 Mumbai blasts, today escaped unhurt wh...

Noted criminal lawyer Majid Memon, who has handled several terrorism-related cases including the 1993 Mumbai blasts, today escaped unhurt when two underworld hitmen fired at him outside his residence in suburban Bandra.

At around 9 am, two gunmen—suspected to be from the Ravi Pujari gang—sprayed bullets at Memon’s Mitsubishi Lancer from the rear, shattering the windscreen. But Memon (59) and his son Zulfi (28) escaped as they ducked, police said. Memon’s security guard retaliated but the assailants managed to escape on a motorcycle, they said.

A person, claiming to be gangster Ravi Pujari, called up Memon’s residence twice later to claim that he had ordered the firing, Zulfi said. ‘‘My wife Suzanne got the first call at 9.45 am and another at 10.15 am after the attack from someone claiming to be Ravi Pujari,’’ said Zulfi.

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City police commissioner A N Roy told reporters that the call was traced to Monaco. He said police also suspected the involvement of the Pujari gang in the attack but according to information with them, the gangster was in South Africa. Pujari was a member of the Chhota Rajan gang before forming his own outfit, police said.

Memon’s security has been beefed up after the incident, police said. Memon, who fought several high-profile cases, including the 1993 serial bomb blasts and the Ghatkopar blast that led to the acquittal of the accused had recently refused to accept police security.

‘‘We heard a round of firing and only then did we realise that the attack was on us,’’ said Zulfi, an advocate who assists his father. ‘‘I saw two men, one on a bike and the other standing next to the bike reloading the pistol,’’ he added.

(With PTI)