'No sense of closure till Dawood is brought to justice'

M N Singh was the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) in Mumbai, when the serial blasts rocked the city on March 12, 1993. He later headed the Special Investigation Team, which was constituted to probe the explosions and included officials of the Mumbai Police as well as the CBI, IB and the R&AW. He tells DH’s Mrityunjay Bose that although culprits were convicted and sentenced, the closure has not been achieved as the main conspirators remained in Pakistan. Singh retired a decade later as the Mumbai Police Commissioner.

How do you look back to March 12, 1993?

I was in my office when the information about the blast came in. We went to the field only to know that it was in fact a series of blasts across the city. It was a difficult time. It was a Friday and the timing was around the ‘Jumma ki Namaz’. Mumbai had just come out of communal riots. The blasts shook the city again. There was no communal fallout though.

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How much time did it take to find out who were responsible for the blasts?

Not much, we managed to seize a vehicle which led us to the home of Tiger Memon and his family. The underworld and the ISI of Pakistan came together to target the financial capital of India. The link between the underworld gangs and the terrorist groups was established. As the investigations progressed and we started making arrests, it was clear who planned, where the conspiracy was hatched, how the ISI was involved, how people went to Dubai and then to Pakistan for training. Nothing of that nature and scale was earlier seen in India. They used RDX in the bombs. It was a military grade explosive. AK-47 rifles, grenades also came in from Pakistan.

Thirty years later, how do you look back at it now?

The trial went on for several years. People were prosecuted and sentenced. But we must admit that the sense of closure is yet to be achieved. Around two dozen people, including Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon, Javed Chikna, Anwar Theeba, are still wanted in the case. Many of them are hiding in the Gulf or in Pakistan. Some of them died there. Till Dawood Ibrahim and his close aides are not punished, there would not be a sense of closure.

How have these 30 years changed Mumbai?

After the 1993 serial blasts, we have seen Mumbai being targeted again and again. The big incidents being the serial blasts in train in June 2006 and the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai in November 2008. If you look at the period between 1993-2011, there have been several terrorist attacks in Mumbai. In all these we have seen the involvement of Pakistani elements. Post 2011, we have not seen Mumbai being attacked. Over decades of incidents, we have learnt lessons and there has been an upgrade of the security and intelligence apparatus. The police forces too have undergone a lot of training and have done extensive ground work. We have to remember that in all these incidents, though the Pakistani elements have been involved, local elements have also been roped in. After the 26/11 terror attacks, along with Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, two Indians too faced trial, but they were acquitted.