1993 blasts convict Mustafa Dossa dies of cardiac arrest in Mumbai's JJ Hospital

Mumbai serial blasts case convict Mustafa Dossa on Wednesday died of cardiac arrest at the JJ Hospital in Mumbai, hours after he was rushed there due to chest pain.

According to Hospital dean TP Lahane, Dossa, died at 2.30 pm due to cardiac arrest.

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accused, including Dossa and extradited gangster Abu Salem, under the charges of murder, conspiracy and sections of now repealed TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act), while the sixth accused Riyaz Siddiqui was convicted only under TADA Act.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.