1993 blasts convict Mustafa Dossa dies in Mumbai’s JJ Hospital

Mustafa Dossa, one of the six convicts in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, died in JJ Hospital on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Dossa was admitted to the hospital after he complained of chest pain and infection.

JJ Hospital Dean TP Lahane had said that Dossa had uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes.

Dossa had informed special TADA court about his heart problem and said he wanted to undergo a bypass surgery.

CBI had sought capital punishment for Dossa, arguing that his role in the blasts was “more severe” than that of hanged convict Yakub Memon.

In the second instalment of the trial, the court on June 16 convicted five accused, including Dossa and extradited gangster Abu Salem, under the charges of murder, conspiracy and sections of now repealed TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act), while the sixth accused Riyaz Siddiqui was convicted only under TADA Act.

As many as 257 people were killed in the coordinated blasts that ripped through the city on March 12, 1993.

Special CBI counsel Deepak Salvi had mentioned in the court that Dossa was one of the “brains” behind the conspiracy and that his degree of responsibility towards the commission of the crime was the highest.