1993 Bombay blast convict Tahir Merchant dies in Yerawada Central Jail

Tahir Merchant, a close aide of India’s most wanted person Dawood Ibrahim and death row convict in 1993 serial blasts case and serving sentence in Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail, died on Wednesday morning.

Additional director general of prisons Bhushankumar Upadhyay, confirmed Merchant death.

“He died in the wee hours of Wednesday,” Upadhyay told the media.

According to close sources in Yerwada Central Jail, the 63-year-old Merchant complained of chest pain around 2:45 AM in the morning. “He was rushed to Sassoon General Hospital for medical attention. The doctor’s declared him dead at 3:45 AM,” a jail official said.

The officer further added that the possible reason behind his death is heart-attack. “The actual cause behind the death will only be clear after postmortem,” the officer added.

Merchant was a convict in 1993 Mumbai bomb blast that killed 257 people and had left 718 people injured. He was lodged at the high security Yerwada Central Jail.