Man involved in 1993 riots arrested after 32 years
In 1992-1993, following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, riots had erupted in Mumbai and were followed by 12 bomb blasts.
Three decades after the 1993 Mumbai riots set pockets of the city ablaze, the police have arrested a 54-year-old who was named as one of the rioters. The accused, after absconding for 32 years, has been booked under sections related to rioting and murder of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The Wadala police said that the accused, Arif Ali Hashmulla Khan, was initially arrested and booked, but after coming out on bail he did not report back to the police, and the court declared him to be absconding.
Port Zone deputy commissioner of police, Vijaykant Sagar instructed the police to form a special team and continue searching for Khan. Investigations revealed that the accused was from Uttar Pradesh, but when the team questioned his relatives and friends there, they found no leads.
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The police finally managed to track down Khan’s brother who was believed to be living in Mumbai. “Even while questioning the brother, we got only a few details,” the police said. The accused’s brother told the police that Khan might be living in Wadala or Antop Hill under a changed name.
With their search narrowed to two localities, the police continued their investigation through a network of informers and began identifying people whose height, weight, age, and name were similar to that of Khan, said an officer. On July 3, they finally found someone living in Deen Bandhu Nagar, Wadala, who resembled Khan.
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For two days, the police kept a close watch, and finally, once they were sure that he was indeed Khan, they arrested him on July 5. Senior inspector Sudarshan Honwadjakar said that the accused had been working as a welder and had changed his surname to Shaikh hoping the new name would save him from an arrest.
In 1992-1993, following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, riots erupted in Mumbai and were followed by 12 bomb blasts targeting prominent areas of the city. Khan was identified as one of the people involved in the rampage that raged through the city in that turbulent phase.
