Mr. Memon was convicted in 2007 for his role in the Mumbai bombings, which left 257 people dead, though part of the controversy surrounding his case is that he played a smaller role in the blasts as a fundraiser while those chiefly responsible remain at large.
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Yakub Memon, the lone 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict whose death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, was hanged to death today, capping dramatic last-ditch legal manoeuvres by his lawyers to stall his execution that ended in failure. Both have fled the country. “The issuance of death warrant is not illegal and thereby we don’t find any merit in the convict’s petition“, the panel said, dismissing Memon’s petition before a packed courtroom.
The police barred media from publishing images of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon’s funeral, apparently fearing a backlash against the execution that many said was driven by politics.
The 1993 blasts, a series of 13 bomb explosions at prime areas in India’s financial capital of Mumbai, were the deadliest terror attack in the country. However, the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation said that he was arrested in New Delhi on August. 5, 1994. They also argued that the Maharashtra prison manual, which stipulates that there must be a seven-day gap between the rejection of a mercy petition and execution, has not been followed. After the Supreme Court heard Memon’s final plea, his lawyer Anand Grover told reporters at dawn on Thursday that he had “exhausted” his remedies, AP reported. “Complete access to justice was given to Yakub Memon for the last 22 years”.
“It virtually is the victory of law of our country”, he said, adding Dawood should also be nabbed. “I’ve just done my job”, said Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi.
According to the Indian prosecution team, those assaults were ordered by the local underworld in revenge for the demolition of a 16th century mosque in northern India by Hindu zealots. A Mumbai Special Court had sentenced him to death in July 2007. The judgments began in late 2006.
Indian protesters shout slogans during a protest against the death sentence of convicted bomb plotter Yakub Memon on 27 July 2015. Several people, including Bollywood movie star Sanjay Dutt, have been accused of plotting or helping the conspirators.
He denied any involvement in the blasts during a staggered trial and appeal process that bitterly divided opinion and triggered calls for his life to be spared. Death sentences were issued for 10 of them but were commuted to life in prison. His wife and daughter were believed to be at the family home.
“Saddened by news that our Government has hanged a human being”.
While India has put more than 1,000 people on death row in the past decade, the nation has actually executed only three, the BBC noted Thursday.
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Memon’s execution would be India’s fourth in the last 15 years.
