Satisfied with verdict, says Maria who led Mumbai blasts' probe

Mumbai: Retired IPS officer Rakesh Maria, who headed the probe in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, on Friday welcomed the conviction of six persons, including mastermind Mustafa Dossa and gangster Abu Salem, in the case.

A special TADA court today convicted six persons in the case. While Dossa was convicted on charges of conspiracy and murder, Salem was found guilty of transporting weapons from Gujarat to Mumbai ahead of the blasts.

"People who hatched the conspiracy with Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai got convicted. It is a good judgement and I am satisfied with it," Maria, the former police commissioner of Mumbai, told PTI.

"People like Dossa and Salem, who got convicted today, were involved in planning, conspiracy and finance in the Mumbai blasts," Maria alleged.

"The investigation which our team carried out was accepted by the judiciary. This shows our investigation was right," he said.

Maria credited the Mumbai police team who did "massive work day and night".

A series of 13 blasts in quick succession ripped through various locations of India's financial capital on March 12, 1993 and the suburbs killing 257 people and injuring around 700.

The prime targeted locations included the Air India Building, Bombay Stock Exchange, Zaveri Bazar, then existing five star hotels, Hotel SeaRock and Hotel Juhu Centaur, and others leading to damage of public and private property worth Rs 27 crore.