1993 blasts death row convict dies in hospital after chest pain

MUMBAI: Tahir Merchant (60), who was sentenced to death by a trial court in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case and lodged in Yerawada prison, died while undergoing treatment at a government-run hospital in Pune in the early hours of Wednesday.

Tahir was convicted last year by a special Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (prevention) Act court in the second leg of trial. The sentence has yet to be confirmed by the Supreme Court where the matter is pending.

A jail official said a medical officer initially examined Tahir after he complained of breathlessness and severe chest pain. Bhushan Upadhyay, additional director general police (Prisons), said Tahir was admitted to Sassoon hospital around 3 am. “He died in hospital during treatment at about 3.45 am,” he said.

A jail official said Tahir had a medical history of various ailments. “He was taking medicines ever since he was shifted to the jail here on September 9, 2017,” the jail official said.

Earlier last year before sentencing, Mustafa Dossa, another convict, died in Mumbai. He was at Arthur Road and admitted to JJ hospital following chest pains.

A doctor from Sassoon General Hospital said the postmortem was inconclusive for ascertaining the cause of death. “We have preserved his viscera for histopathological examination,” the doctor said. Histopathology is the microscopic examination of tissues to study the manifestations of disease.

The CBI had arrested Tahir on June 8, 2010 after he was extradited from Abu Dhabi for his role in the 12 serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured 713 others on March 12, 1993.

He was held guilty of "actively participating in several meetings". Special Tada Judge G A Sanap had accepted that he was in a dominating position of authority and yet took no steps to avert the blasts. During the trial, special CBI prosecutor Deepak Salvi had stressed that Tahir "worked with Tiger Memon".

Yerawada police’s senior inspector Mukund Mahajan said, “We have registered a case of accidental death. We are in the process of collecting medical documents pertaining to the ailments suffered by the deceased and the postmortem report for conducting investigations. His body was handed over to his family on the completion of legal formalities.”