Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi should also be hanged, says Owaisi post Yakub`s

In 2007, he was convicted and sentenced to death under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), a law that contained provisions incompatible with worldwide fair trial standards.

He said Janab Kalam was opposed to death penalty as he was on record saying “can’t take away life that God gave”.

Sheikh Abdur Rashid, an Independent MLA and leader of regional Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) was on Thursday detained by the police along with his supporters as they appeared at Srinagar’s historic Lal Chowk to protest against the hanging of Yakub Memon in Nagpur jail earlier during the day.

Memon was convicted for being the “driving spirit” behind the blasts that killed at least 257 people at separate landmarks in the financial capital, including the Bombay Stock Exchange and two crowded markets.

In occupied Kashmir, the Gilani-led forum, the All Parties Hurriyet Conference and other Hurriyet leaders have expressed anguish over the custodial hanging of an Indian Muslim, Yakub Memon, terming it against all humanitarian norms and principals of fair play of justice, besides proving that there is no mercy for the Muslims in India. “State-sponsored killing diminishes us all by reducing us to murderers too”.

He got no relief from any quarters, paving the way for his execution.

Both have been on the run since 1993.

His mercy petition to the President of India was rejected in April 2014.

But the court dismissed it in a pre-dawn hearing, paving the way for Memon’s execution shortly afterwards.

Owaisi said it was a “fact that Memon surrendered and was not arrested” and had cooperated with the investigation agencies to show real perpetrators were Pakistan’s ISI and Tiger Memon “but is being sent to gallows”.

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”.

“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.