India Hangs 1993 Mumbai Bomb Plotter

[Irony of Life: 1993 blasts convict Yakub Memon hanged on his birthday].

The apex court bench comprising of Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph differed on the issue of entertaining the plea of Memon, the sole death row convict in the Mumbai serial blasts case.

Just two hours before the sentence was carried out India’s Supreme Court had been hearing arguments by his lawyers. The Maharashtra government is gearing up to execute Memon at 7am today at the Nagpur Central Jail following rejection of his pleas. The body was taken to Mumbai for burial by a service flight.

Yakub Memon – who wake up at 3:30am – was permitted a warm bath and was provided with a set of fresh clothes, hours ahead of his scheduled hanging.

A crowd of around 500 persons had gathered outside the building as soon as the ambulance carrying Yakub’s body arrived in the area, and the entire scene was constantly monitored by plain clothes policemen.

Police officials told that Memon’s family is likely to arrive in the city till 1 pm. His wife and daughter were believed to be at the family home.

Policemen announced at Mahim on loudspeaker that the Namaz-e-Janaza would be read at the Bada Kabarstan at Charni Road at 4.30 pm. Security was tight and hundreds of paramilitary and police were posted nearby.

The lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks was hanged in 2012, while a Kashmiri separatist was executed in New Delhi the following year after being convicted of involvement in a deadly 2001 attack on the Indian parliament.

It was the year 2007 when most death sentences (186) were awarded, followed by 164 in 2005.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court noted that Memon had been given enough time to challenge the death sentence.

“As a effect, if we have to stay the death warrant it would be a travesty of justice”, the bench said, adding “we do not find any merit in the writ petition“.

Meanwhile, Amnesty worldwide has condemned India’s use of the death penalty as a symbol of its resolve to tackle crime.

“There is no question of victory or elation”.

Nagpur jail sources informed that Yakub said, “I want to meet my daughter”.

Yakub’s brothers and close relatives along with others were present.

Lawyers for Memon made a last-ditch mercy petition to Supreme Court Chief Justice H.L. Dattu after Indian President Pranab Mukherjee rejected a clemency plea late yesterday.

Earlier in the day, the President, as per the norm, forwarded the petition to the government. Online portal Rediff released an article by a former intelligence officer who claimed that Memon had helped investigators unravel the plot and bring back other members of his family from Pakistan, where they had been hiding. “We have already been branded as terrorists and shall face the consequences”, said Memon – the younger brother of absconding accused Tiger Memon, when he was convicted along with his brothers Essa Memon and Yusuf Memon by designated judge.