Convict involved in 1993 Mumbai bombings attacked and killed in Kolhapur jail

A convict involved in the 1993 Mumbai bombings was fatally attacked by five inmates at Kalamba Central Jail in Kolhapur on Sunday, police said, according to a PTI report.

The deceased, 59-year-old Munna alias Mohammad Ali Khan alias Manoj Kumar Bhawarlal Gupta, was involved in an argument with other inmates over the use of the toilet. This argument escalated and led to the violent attack.

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Details of the attack

During the argument, several detainees removed an iron cover from the drain and hit Khan on the head. He collapsed and was immediately taken to hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, the report said.

The attackers were identified as Prateek alias Pilya Suresh Patil, Deepak Netaji Khot, Sandeep Shankar Chavan, Rituraj Vinayak Inamdar and Saurabh Vikas.

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Kolhapur police have registered a murder case against the five men involved. The police official said they would be arrested soon, they said.

Bombings in Mumbai 1993

The Mumbai bombings on March 12, 1993, killed 257 people and injured more than 1,000. Khan served a life sentence for his involvement in these attacks.

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chronology of the events in the case in which the main hearing ended in 2007:

March 12, 1993: 12 explosions rock Mumbai, leaving 257 dead and 713 injured.

■ April 19, 1993: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt (accused number 117) is arrested.

■ November 4, 1993: Over 10,000-page indictment against 189 defendants, including Dutt.

■ November 19, 1993: Case handed over to CBI.

■ April 10, 1995: 26 accused are acquitted by the TADA court. Charges are filed against the remaining accused. The Supreme Court acquits two more accused – travel agent Abu Asim Azmi (chairman of the Samajwadi Party) and Amjed Meher Baux.

■ April 19, 1995: Start of the first phase of the trial.

Also read | 1993 Mumbai serial bombings case: A chronology of events

■ September 18, 2002: Abu Salem is arrested in Lisbon, Portugal.

■ March 20, 2003: Accused Mustafa Dossa was arrested by the CBI at the IGI airport in New Delhi on his arrival from Dubai.

■ September 2003: Main hearing ends. The TADA court in Mumbai reserves the verdict.

■ January 9, 2004: Charges filed against Dossa.

■ November 11, 2005: Salem extradited to India.

■ December 9, 2005: Charges filed against Salem.

■ June 13, 2006: The trial against Abu Salem is interrupted.

■ September 12, 2006: Judge PD Kode of the TADA court begins pronouncing the verdict. He finds four members of the Memon family guilty and acquits three. Later, 12 convicts are sentenced to death and 20 to life imprisonment. Other convicts receive different sentences.

■ February 2007: Main hearing concluded. Return match with seven defendants begins.

■ March 16, 2013: Sanjay Dutt faces trial after Supreme Court upholds verdict.

■ March 21, 2013: The Supreme Court confirms the death sentence of convicted Yakub Memon, brother of Tiger Memon, and commutes the death sentences of 10 convicts to life imprisonment. The life sentences of 16 of the 18 convicts are also confirmed.

■ August 13, 2013: The TADA court drops certain charges against Salem because he violated the extradition agreement with Portugal.

■ July 30, 2015: The main conspirator and only person sentenced to death in the case, Yakub Memon, is hanged.

■ December 7, 2015: Closing arguments in the second phase of the trial begin.

■ June 8, 2016: The court rejects the application of the accused Firoz Abdul Rashid in which he stated that he wanted to become an approver.

■ March 2017: Process completed.

■ June 16, 2017: TADA Court Judge GA Sanap convicts six accused, including Dossa and Salem, and acquits one.

■ June 28, 2017: Dossa dies of cardiac arrest in a Mumbai hospital.

■ September 7, 2017: Court imposes death sentences on Tahir Merchant and Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, life sentences on Abu Salem and Karimullah Khan and 10 years imprisonment on Riyaz Siddiqui.

(With inputs from PTI)