ATS nabs 1993 Mumbai blasts accused

AHMEDABAD/MUMBAI: The Gujarat anti-terrorist squad (ATS) arrested Ahmed Kamal Shaikh alias Lambu, a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, on Thursday night. Lambu is an associate of Mustafa Ahmed Umar Dossa alias Mustafa Majnu, who is an aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. He was nabbed from a coastal area of Valsad.

Lambu had been absconding for the past 25 years and, according to the police, he remained in Dubai for most of the time. On March 12, 1993, serial blasts had rocked Mumbai at 12 places in which 257 persons were killed and 713 injured.

According to Gujarat ATS, Lambu was in India to execute a gold smuggling assignment through the sea route to a Gulf country. “We got a tip-off about his presence in Valsad and arrested him,” an ATS officer said.


Gujarat ATS SP (operations), Himanshu Shukla, said Lambu has had a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his arrest since 1996 and a red corner notice had already been issued against him. Shukla said Lambu used to stay in a building near Musafirkhana in Mumbai, which was one of the places from where Dawood used to run the underworld.

“We will hand him over to CBI’s Mumbai unit, which is probing the blasts case,” said Shukla. A few months ago, another absconding accused in the case, Mohammed Farooq alias Takla, an alleged Dawood aide, was arrested after being extradited from UAE.