Owaisi contended 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon got a death sentence because he did not have any political backing, unlike the killers of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.
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That appeal reflected both opposition to the death penalty as well as fresh claims by his lawyers that he freely surrendered to Indian authorities in Kathmandu, Nepal, and that his direct links to the bombings had not been sufficiently established.
The preparations for the hanging at the Nagpur Central Prison were underway much before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, 1050 km away in Delhi, pronounced its order at 4.50am, ending the last hope of a reprieve for Yakub on his 53rd birthday today.
Memon was convicted in 2007 of helping raise funds for the blasts that struck the Bombay Stock Exchange, Air India offices, a state transport office, three hotels, a gas station, and a movie theater over two hours on March 12, 1993. “It is a misguided attempt to prevent terrorism, and a disappointing use of the criminal justice system as a tool for retribution”.
Raising slogans against the prevalence of capital punishment and the hanging of Memon, Rashid said, “We want that capital punishment be abolished all over the world”.
While monitoring social media, security agencies have stumbled upon the fact that a section of Indian Muslim youths feel that they are being allegedly discriminated against in various stages of life, especially by police and judiciary. Salem was recently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a builder in the city.
Memon had challenged the rejection of his mercy petition by the president.
But the court dismissed it in a pre-dawn hearing, paving the way for Memon’s execution shortly afterwards.
“I’m happy that justice has been done, although it has been delayed by 22 years, but ultimately I will not be satisfied until Tiger and Dawood are punished too”, the 58-year-old told AFP.
He, however, later added that he was not going into the merits of the Yakub case but was opposed “to the principle and practice of the death penalty in our country”.
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“This morning, the Indian government essentially killed a man in cold-blood”, said Aakar Patel, Executive Director, Amnesty global India.
