Tahir Merchant was allegedly present when Tiger Memon, Dawood hatched plan in Dubai.
The hunt lasted more than 17 years. An absconding accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday, following his extradition from Abu Dhabi.
Tahir Merchant, alias Tahir Taklya, is alleged to be a close associate of Tiger Memon, one of the prime accused in the case, a CBI officer said.
Taklya had played a crucial role in the serial blasts, providing logistical support to the perpetrators from Dubai. “He was a conduit in sending batches of young men to Pakistan for militant training,” Anand Somani, superintendent of police, CBI, said. Taklya provided them with money and fake travel documents.
“Taklya attended meetings between Memon and Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai. It was in these meeting that the blast conspiracy was hatched,” another CBI officer said. The accused was produced in a special CBI court, which remanded him in police custody till June 14.
The Tada court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Taklya after he was declared absconding in October 1993. “In 2004, an Interpol red-corner notice was issued in his name, and the following year, his passport was confiscated by the police in Dubai,” the CBI officer said.
Taklya is an old hand in operating hawala channels. A resident of Mohammed Ali Road, south Mumbai, he migrated to Dubai in the late Eighties. “There he started dealing in hawala rackets. He lured away several youths from the city, promising them jobs in Dubai,” a CBI officer said.
He is believed to be a key link between the conspirators of the blasts, including Tiger Memon and Dawood. “He is a key member of the group. We will interrogate him to get details about the other members involved in the blasts. He is likely to possess crucial information on the current financial status and whereabouts of these members,” the CBI officer said.
Earlier in February, the CBI arrested another absconding accused in the serial blasts case — Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan — from Navi Mumbai. Trial against him is yet to begin.
Currently, the Tada court is conducting the trial of extradited gangster Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa and Abdul Qayyum. In 2007, special Tada judge Pramod Kode convicted 100 accused, including Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt. Most of them have appealed to the Supreme Court, which is yet to hear them.
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