Acid used as timer in 1993 blasts

Mumbai: The TADA court is on a roll. Thirteen years after Mumbai was rocked by a terrorist attack that claimed 257 lives, the TADA court has pronounced nine people guilty, including four members of the Memon family.

The main accused, Tiger Memon, is still absconding, but the rest have been found guilty of procuring arms and RDX, planting RDX-laden vehicles in crowded areas and concealing information.

After 13 years of speculation and anticipation, the relatives of the victims are finally getting some respite. Also, the loose ends of the plot are slowly being tied together, to get one comprehensive picture of the 1993 blasts.

A report by the Times News Network, says it was the concentration of acid in the timers of the bombs that decided when the explosions would take place on 12 March 1993.

The report quotes then Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad chief Nandkumar Choughule as saying that the bombs - which were planted at various places including Zaveri Bazaar and Century Bazaar - contained RDX and gelatin sticks and were detonated with a pencil timer.

Choughule stated that the terrorists simply punctured the acid ampoule in the bomb and the acid kept dripping till it melted a metal thread. The snapping of the thread meant instant detonation, said Choughule.

He explained that higher the concentration of the acid, the less time the bomb would take to explode - which would explain why in some places the explosions took place within half an hour of the RDX-laden vehicle being abandoned and in others the bomb exploded more than an hour after being planted.

Choughule added that the highest quantity of RDX was used at Century Bazaar - nearly 50 kg. He said that though he and his men had discovered almost 3,300 kg of RDX, the bombers used only 400 kg for the 1993 blasts.

In case all the RDX recovered had been used, the entire city of Mumbai would have been up in flames Choughule told Times News Network.

A watchman at the Worli TV tower spotted a Maruti Omni with firearms and alerted the police. When the police reached the scene, they found a petrol memo in the car, which led them to Tiger Memon.