Mustafa Dossa (left), brother of absconding accused Mohammed Dossa, and Karimullah Khan being taken to court on an earlier date. Express
EVEN AS a Special TADA court convicted six men for their role in the conspiracy and execution of the 1993 serial blasts, senior officers of Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch admit that one of the most wanted accused in the case, Mohammed Ahmed Dossa, convict Mustafa Dossa’s brother, slipped out of their grasp less than two years ago. Thirty-three accused in the case are still absconding.
Mohammed Dossa, an alleged trusted lieutenant to fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, is a wanted accused in the case for his alleged role in the conspiracy.
According to the CBI chargesheet, Dossa handled landing of the second batch of arms and ammunition at Dighi jetty in Raigad on January 9, 1993. Mustafa and Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, alias Hamza, who were charged with helping the elder Dossa in the landing, were both convicted on Friday. Firoz was known to be a close aide of Mohammed Dossa. Dossa and Tiger Memon are alleged to have fled the country a day before the Mumbai blasts on March 12, 1993.
According to sources, on November 19, 2015, the Mumbai Crime Branch wrote to Interpol with specific information on Dossa travelling to Abu Dhabi. The letter (file 779/2015) was sent by the Mumbai Police.
On November 21, the Interpol reverted to Mumbai Police acknowledging receipt of the letter. Nearly a month later, on December 17, sources claim, Interpol detained Dossa in Abu Dhabi, but he was allowed to leave a few days later. While it is not clear why the Crime Branch did not pursue the case, sources said they did not get the required cooperation from the international agency.
“Dossa’s movements were being tracked for a very long time – he has major business interests in the UAE, and frequently shuttles between Dubai and Abu Dhabi,” said an official privy to the communication. “We were successful in tracking him to Abu Dhabi in the winter of 2015. The Crime Branch immediately followed it up with the required channels and Interpol was informed. We subsequently learnt that he had been detained but before the Indian security agencies could act further, Dossa was released. After that the trail has gone cold and the file has been closed,”
Asked whether there has been any fresh communication in the matter, the source said the police have not been able to get such specific information on Dossa subsequently.
