Pune, April 18: Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Takla, one of the accused of 1993 blast died on Wednesday at Pune Yerwada jail after he complained of chest pain. The accused was sentenced to death by Mumbai Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (TADA) Court. Takla, an absconding accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case was extradited to India and arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in June 2010.

According to B K Upadhyay, the Yerwada Jail Superintendent, the accused complained of chest pain at mid-night at around 3:45 am after which the jail doctors did a check-up. However, the chest pain increased and later he was shifted to Pune Sasoon hospital where doctors declared him dead.

While the Source from the jail authorities added Takla family has already reached Yerwada Jail. While his cremation will be done at Mumbai's Bada Kabristan where Mustafa Dossa was also cremated earlier.

Merchant played a key role in the blast. He had arranged the finance for the blasts and was also linked to conspirators Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim. Also, considered to be a close aide of fugitive gangster Ibrahim.

Almost after twenty-four years, multiple blasts ripped Mumbai, killing 257 people and injuring over 700, a special TADA court convicted six accused, including key figures Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Tahir Merchant alias Tahir Takla, Karimullah Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui and Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan who found guilty.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 18, 2018 01:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).