Ibrahim Moosa, one of the accused of the 1993 bombings in then Bombay, was allegedly seen campaigning for Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) candidate for Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency Amol Kirtikar on Wednesday. A video showing Moosa campaigning for Kiritikar went viral over the internet on Thursday.

Moosa, who was convicted by the court in 2013 for supplying arms to actor Sanjay Dutt, serving a 10-year prison sentence under the provisions of TADA, has been released from incarceration. Upon his release, he swiftly transitioned into politics and joined the election campaign of Amol Kirtikar, who is affiliated with the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ameet Satam took notice of the video and strongly criticised both Amol Kritikar and the Congress party after Moosa was seen participating in the latter's election campaign in Andheri West on Wednesday evening.

“Yesterday evening in Andheri West, 1993 bomb blasts case accused Baba Moosa was seen campaigning and supporting Mumbai North West MVA candidate Amol Kirtikar on the field. It is now extremely clear that the fight is not just between nationalist forces and tukde tukde gang but a battle between India and Pakistan. Mumbai ke hathyaro ke saath Congress ka haath. Everyone should recognise the torch that wants to burn Mumbaikars,” he said. 

Moosa, also known as Baba Chauhan, is a convict in the 1993 Bombay blast case. He stands accused of transporting weapons to actor Sanjay Dutt's residence prior to the serial bombings. As per the prosecution's account, Moosa, along with gangster Abu Salem and others, visited Dutt's residence on January 15, 1993, to inform him that the weapons would be delivered the next day.

The weaponry was later removed, except for one AK-47 rifle found in Dutt’s hands, which led to the actor’s conviction. The serial bombs that happened in 1993 killed 257 people and injured over 700.

The NDA has nominated Shiv Sena MLA Ravindra Waikar to contest for the Mumbai North West seat against Amol Kirtikar. This sets the stage for a direct electoral battle between Shinde Sena's Waikar and Uddhav Sena's Kirtikar. The Mumbai North West constituency includes Jogeshwari East, Dindoshi, Goregaon, Versova, Andheri East, and Andheri West areas.

Waikar, a senior aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, switched sides to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction in March. He has served as a four-time chairman of the BMC’s Standing Committee and a three-time MLA of the undivided Shiv Sena from Jogeshwari.

The elections in the Mumbai North West constituency are scheduled for May 20. The counting of the votes will be on June 4 and the results will be announced on the same day.

Image source: Free Press Journal