"Return of the Memons- A Pyrrhic Victory" continues...

He feared Gul might spill the beans during police questioning. Tiger, unilaterally, decided to go ahead with the limited role he was assigned before the Bombay Crime Branch cops were at his throat and all his hard work went up in smoke. He, on his own, chose
March 12 as the D-Day as it was an auspicious day as per the Islamic calendar. It was the day when Prophet Mohammed had launched Ghazwa-e-Badr (The Battle of Badr), his holy war against warring Quraish chieftains of Mecca. Prophet’s victory in the battle had established Muslim supremacy in Medina. But, before going for his own ‘holy’ war, Tiger had to make some last minute crucial moves.

In the first week of March 1993, Tiger asked his brother Yaqub to take their parents Abdul
Razaq and Hanifa brothers Essa and Yusuf to Dubai, as the situation in Bombay was getting
worse by the day, in the wake of rising Hindu-Muslim tension. His parents left Bombay on March 10 while Yaqub, his wife Rahin and his brothers left the next day. Their other two brothers Ayub and Suleiman were already in Dubai with their families, as they were Resident Visa holders of Dubai. Tiger reached Dubai in the morning of March 12, after instructing his men to strike in the afternoon of the same day.

At about 4 PM on March 12, Yaqub heard the BBC breaking news that Bombay had been rocked by a series of bomb blasts. According to Yaqub’s statement before us, his entire family and he were in a state of shock. On the contrary, Yaqub claimed, Tiger was quite excited and constantly on phone with his counterparts in Mumbai. He seemed mighty jubilant with the news.

Tiger left Dubai for Karachi on March 14, 1993 and asked Yaqub to follow with other family
members. Tickets for all of them had already been booked. As disclosed by Yaqub, when he showed his reluctance, Tiger convinced him to comply with his instructions saying that it was a matter of life and death for the family.

To be continued...