After more than 33 years, a special TADA (Prevention of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities) court in Jamnagar on Monday convicted 12 people in a 1993 case of smuggling of arms and explosives along the Gujarat coast, a conspiracy linked to fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates Tiger Memon and Chhota Shakeel.
The case relates to a plot allegedly by Dawood, later designated as an international terrorist, and his associates based in Dubai and Pakistan, to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, by smuggling a large consignment of arms and explosives, including RDX, into India via the sea route to carry out attacks and foment communal unrest.
Of the 46 defendants in the case, 17 were acquitted during the proceedings, 11 died during the trial, and 15 remain at large, according to case records. The accused, including Dawood, have been booked under various sections of the TADA Act, Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act.
Special Public Prosecutor Tushar Gokani said, under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, Judge R B Mujera convicted 12 accused and sentenced 10 of them to five years’ rigorous imprisonment and two to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment.
In a trial that spanned more than three decades, the prosecution interrogated 63 witnesses and relied on seizure materials, documents, and testimonies to prove the chain of conspiracy and the movement of weapons.
The FIR was registered at Jamnagar B-division police station in July 1993. The ruling comes nearly 33 years after a multi-year investigation, led by now-retired IPS officers PK Jha and Satish Verma, and current Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Director Manoj Shashidhar.
According to the prosecution, the conspiracy included obtaining weapons and explosives from Pakistan and transporting them across the Arabian Sea using automated ships. The operation focused on a boat called “Echo of the Sea.”
The cargo included AK rifles, grenades, RDX, bombs, detonators and cartridges, and was first loaded near Karachi and transported in the middle of the sea to the ship.
The boat was owned by accused Mustafa Dosa alias Mustafa Majnu Seth, who died of cardiac arrest at JJ Hospital in Mumbai on June 28, 2017. This happened just a day after the CBI sought the death penalty for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, while lodged in the Arthur Road jail. The boat was directed to a sea point near Karachi, where it received weapons from a ship linked to the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency.
The ship remained in the open sea for hours, and maintained contact with its dealers via satellite communications. During this period, two other boats approached “Echo of the Sea,” and part of the mission was transferred to them. One of the ships moved towards Maharashtra, while the remaining shipment continued towards Gujarat.
As the ship approached the Gujarat coast, agents on the ground were contacted to ensure the route was clear. After receiving confirmation, the ship anchored near the shore, where local activists arrived in smaller boats and unloaded weapons and explosives near the Gosapara coast in Porbandar district.
To facilitate the smuggling, the accused were recruited from Bedi village in Jamnagar and Salaya Mandvi in Kutch by the conspirators.
The materials were then transported inland using trucks and other vehicles to locations in Gujarat, Maharashtra and elsewhere. Echo of the Sea later returned to Dubai, while agents from Jamnagar and Kutch were instructed to go into hiding. The full extent of the plot did not become apparent until after their arrest.
The prosecution report indicates that boats associated with the Maritime Security Agency were encountered at sea while transporting the shipment.
Investigators later seized weapons, ammunition and vehicles from various defendants during the investigation. The returns included AK-style rifles, grenades, cartridges and other explosive materials. The investigation, which began in 1993, continued for several years, with multiple arrests and indictments as more defendants were identified.
On Monday, the court convicted Usman Usman Omar Koreja, Mamman Ali Imad alias Mamdo, Harun Adam Sundar Vaghera, Ahmed Ismail Aulia, Arif Abdul Rahman alias Arif Lamba, Iftikhar Muhammad Yunus Ansari, Muhammad Ayub Abdul Qayyum Ansari alias Ayub Tanko, Laxman Hardas Ahir, Muhammad Saleem alias Saleem Kota, and Omar Mia alias Mumtaz Ismail. Mia known as Najmiya Syed Bukhari, Istiq Ahmad Muhammad Yunus Ansari, Qadir Ahmad Amim Ahmad Sheikh.
The fugitives include Dawood Ibrahim Sheikh, Muhammad Ahmed Omar Dosa, Tiger Memon, Javed Chikna, Ibrahim Abdul Razzaq alias Tiger Memon, Anis Ibrahim Kaskar, Anwar Samba, Chhota Shakeel, Tony Kiralian, Firoz Abdul Rahman, Afzal Daudbhai Maiman, Jafar alias Raja, Abdul Sattar Abdul Rahim, Anis Muhammad alias Anis Lamba, among others.
