Another Mumbai blast convict dies of heart attack

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, April 18

Tahir Merchant, alias Tahir Takla, one of those sentenced to death in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case died of heart attack on Wednesday, police said.

Merchant, who is lodged in Pune's Yerwada jail, complained of chest pain and collapsed at 3 am, a spokesman at the state police control room said. He was taken to the Sassoon Hospital in the city where doctors tried unsuccessfully to revive him.

Merchant was declared dead at around 3.45 am, police added.

He was sentenced to death last year after being found guilty of conspiracy and facilitating the training of the bombers in Pakistan. Merchant was found guilty of arranging for the passports and attending meetings for the blast conspiracy in Dubai. Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim are both key conspirators in the blast case.

Merchant was extradited to India from Abu Dhabi in 2010.

Merchant is the second convict to die in custody. Another convict, Mustafa Dossa, had also died of cardiac arrest last year.