An absconding accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Salim Gazi, died in Karachi, Pakistan on Saturday, January 15. Mumbai police officials said that he died of cardiac arrest.
He was not keeping well for some time and suffered from high blood pressure and cardiac-related ailments, said sources.
As per Mumbai crime branch official he had been unwell for a long time. Gazi, a close aide of Shakeel, was successful in fleeing India after the 1993 blast, which shook the entire country.
Salim Gazi had a Red Corner Notice (RCN) from Interpol against him.
A series of blasts had taken place in Mumbai on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people and injuring over 700.
Who is Salim Gazi?
Salim Abdul Gani Gazi was a close aide of underworld gangster Chhota Shakeel. Shakeel is a close confidante of notorious gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
Besides, he was in the list of ‘50 most wanted fugitives alleged to be in Pakistan’ issued by India in 2011.
After escaping to Pakistan, Gazi the Indian intelligence agencies were constantly on look for him. He however, changed several addresses including Dubai but mostly had been in Pakistan, sources said.
Gazi was an active participant in the conspiracy of 1993 serial blasts that rocked Mumbai.
He played a pivotal role in sending some of the accused involved in the 1993 serial blasts to Pakistan via Dubai for training in the use of weapons and explosives.
Gazi had fled Mumbai soon after the 1993 serial blasts along with several other members of Chhota Shakeel and Dawood Ibrahim's gang.
Since then, Salim Gazi was said to be hiding in the UAE earlier before settling in Pakistan. Gazi used to handle Shakeel's businesses and illegal operations in Pakistan.
Gazi is said to have married again in Karachi even though his first wife and children reside in Mumbai and UAE.
In 2008, Nepal officials had deported two persons suspecting them to be Salim Gazi and Riyaz Khatri but later it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
Who are the other accused in the case?
More than two dozen wanted accused in the Mumbai 1993 serial blasts case are still at large.
The long list includes Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, Chhota Shakeel, Tiger Memon and his family members, and several other members of the gang who are mostly based in Karachi, Pakistan, or in the UAE.
Last year, one of the key aides of Shakeel, Faheem Machmach, also died due to health issues.
While two separate trials have been held against the accused and a third is yet to commence against two absconding accused arrested recently, a list of wanted accused involved in the conspiracy of the blast remains untraced. Gazi was alleged to have been involved in the criminal conspiracy.
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