Uncertain Future Stares at 1993 Mumbai Blasts Convicts

Mumbai: Two years back, Bashir Usman Ghani, serving life sentence in the 1993 serial Mumbai blasts, came out on parole to marry his lady love who had waited for him for two decades. 45-year-old Bashir, however, had to return to Nashik jail after expiry of parole to undergo the life imprisonment awarded to him by a TADA Court for his role in the bombings, the first in the long list of terror attacks to have rocked the city this day 20 years ago.

Bashir was lucky to tie the knot with the girl he loved but fate willed otherwise for Mohammed Shoib Ghansar, another convict in the same case, ordered to be taken to the gallows, says defence lawyer Subhash Kanse. Shoib had pleaded for leniency before the TADA court which convicted him and sentenced to death, saying he wanted to marry the girl who had waited for him for 13 years to enter into wedlock.

The girl used to come to the court housed in central prison to meet her father and had fallen in love with Shoib. The families of the two hoped that they would get married after Shoib came out of jail.

However, with his appeal still pending before the Supreme Court, the girl moved on to marry to someone else. "She perhaps realised there was little chance of his appeal being decided by the Supreme Court in the near future and that Shoib may never come out of jail," said Farhana Shah, who appeared for many accused in the case.

Bashir was found guilty of being involved in the conspiracy in the serial blasts case. He had gone with a team of absconding accused Tiger Memon to bomb a fishermen's colony in Mahim but developed cold feet and did not throw grenades like others and hence escaped death penalty, lawyer Kanse said. Shoib was found guilty of parking an RDX-laden scooter at Zaveri Bazaar on March 12, 1993, which exploded killing many.

Also Read: India's Deadliest Terror Attacks Till Today