Yakub Memon, condemned to death in the case of explosions series 1993 Mumbai alone convict was hanged in the central prison in Nagpur on Thursday morning, less than two hours after the Supreme Court rejected his final plea after a strip and legal drama of war.
Yakub was hung around 6:30 in the morning, on a day he turned 54. Earlier, it was planned that Yakub would be hanged at 7.00am. But there were changes in the plan at the last moment.
According to reports, DGP additional Meeran Borwanar, superintedent jail Yogesh Desai, a medical officer and a few others, were present at the yard to hang. This was the 21st hanging in Nagpur Central Jail since independence.
Yakub was calm when he was brought into the yard to hang in the morning, authorities said.
On the last day, Yakub was awakened by the prison authorities at 3:30 am, allowed to bathe and say your prayers, before being taken to the gallows. A police officer who executed convict Ajmal Kasab 26/11 attacks in Pune Yerawada prison in 2012 carried out the execution while the rope is obtained from outside.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the execution was carried out in accordance with the directives of the TADA court. The CM is likely to make a statement in the state assembly at 11 hours.
Yakub’s body will be returned to his family with the condition that it will not be used for protests. His relatives have booked an air ambulance to take the body to Mumbai.
Yakub – brother of the first accused Tiger Memon in case explosions in series – and 11 others were sentenced to death by a special court TADA in July 2007 by the dozen explosions that erupted in the financial capital of India, killing 257 people and leaving more than 1,000 injured.
The only member of a good education of the Memon family was convicted of criminal conspiracy, organizing money to purchase vehicles used by terrorists and the organization of air tickets to Dubai for some of them.
Pendant Yakub came after 24 hours of dramatic evolution during which the execution was cleared twice by the Supreme Court and once by President Pranab Mukherjee.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Dipak Misra – which began hearing the last minute request for stay of execution of Yakub at 3.20 am on Thursday – Early morning ruled that the convict had enough opportunities.
“It will be travesty of justice if the death warrant remained in a case of this nature,” the court ruled in its verdict at 4:55 a.m..
The ruling came at the end of a hearing open 95 minutes that saw the lawyers questioning Yakub ‘rushed’ government to hang the condemned convict and who insist that clemency was rejected by President hastily.
The President took his final decision late on Wednesday night after consulting Interior Minister Rajnath Singh, who said “no rethinking” of the death sentence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh and senior officials, including Secretary LC Goyal house met in the prime minister’s residence and discussed the issue and considered that it should advise the president to reject the clemency petition.
India is one of the few countries that still have the death penalty, but the rate of executions has declined to a trickle in the last two decades. Although hundreds of people are on death row, but executions of only three people have gone ahead in the last 18 years – rapist Dhananjoy Chatterjee in 2004 Mumbai attacks in 2012 condemning Kasab and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in 2013.
