CBI extradites ’93 blasts conspirator, six others

Syed Ali Ahmed

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 17

The CBI has extradited seven accused involved in various crimes, including the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. The accused were hiding in different countries for the past many years.

Mohammed Farooq alias Farooq Takla, believed to be a key conspirator of the Mumbai blasts, was extradited from the UAE in March. He is an aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. He reached Mumbai on March 8 and was arrested and produced in a special court trying cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and was remanded in judicial custody, sources said.

Mohammad Yahya, economic fugitive and a resident of Bengaluru, was brought from Bahrain and was sent to judicial custody. He had cheated a couple of banks of Rs46 lakh in 2003.The CBI had taken over the case in 2009 but Yahya had fled by then. After completion of the probe, a chargesheet was filed against him and he was declared a proclaimed offender. A red corner notice was issued by the Interpol and he was arrested by the Bahrain authorities and extradited to India recently, sources said.

Vinay Mittal, a loan defaulter, has been extradited from Bali, Indonesia. The CBI had registered seven fraud cases against him (six in 2014 and one in 2016). He had left the country before the CBI had filed the chargesheet. Later, he was declared a proclaimed offender. He was arrested in Indonesia following a red corner notice by the Interpol. He was involved in Rs40-crore bank fraud.

Iomuto, involved in a cheating case, was brought from Nicaragua in March, while Danial Santhan was brought back on October 22, 2017, from Dubai. Santhan was involved in a cheating case. Another Danial Lessie, involved in a forgery case, was brought back from the UAE. Mohammad Sultan Qadir, involved in a cheating case, was extradited from Singapore, sources said.