Yakub Memon, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict, was hanged until death at the Nagpur Central Jail of western Indian state of Maharashtra on Thursday morning.
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Memon was convicted by a special court under the draconian Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act, which was immediately promoted after the 1993 bombing. When neither route brought reprieve, activists and lawyers filed a late-night petition arguing that Memon’s mercy petition had been rejected in an unwarranted rush by the President, and that a prisoner is entitled to a 14-day gap before execution once a request for clemency is turned down.
Even after the rejection of mercy petition by the President, Memon filed another mercy petition himself on July 21, the day when his curative petition was dismissed.
Adequate security arrangements were made in Mumbai, Nagpur and other parts of the state to maintain law and order and social media platforms were also kept under watch, he said.
Of the 11 suspects sentenced in 2007 for their role in the devastating attacks, Memon was the only one sentenced to death. Raman who coordinated Memon’s arrest in 1994 and said the prosecution appeared to have failed to highlight mitigating circumstances in its eagerness to secure a death penalty.
Following the procedure before death penalty, Yakub was asked about his last wish.
For decades India had been reluctant to carry out death sentences, but in 2012 it voted against a United Nations draft resolution for a global moratorium on executions.
Memom died on his 53rd birthday. “If, 22 years is not good enough for finality, then I don’t know when you will have finality”, he said, adding that Memon knew the date of his execution three months in advance.
Jail administration handed over Yakub’s body to his elder brother, Suleiman and cousin, Usman Memon, around 9.30 am after the family gave an undertaking that they would not hold demonstrations with the body and ensure a quiet burial in Mumbai.
“It is a misguided attempt to prevent terrorism, and a disappointing use of the criminal justice system as a tool for retribution”, Executive Director Aakar Patel said in a statement.
Yakub Memon, a chartered accountant with profession was accused for planning the Mumbai blasts that occurred on 12 March 1993.
The Supreme Court had described Memom as the “driving spirit” behind the 1993 Mumbai blsts that left 257 dead and 713 wounded.
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The coffin was taken to the graveyard at Marine Lines from the Memon family residence at Mahim, where the body was kept for about two hours for the last rites and prayers by the family members and others.
