Yakub Memon hanged in Nagpur jail: As it happened

Over 22 years after the 1993 Mumbai blasts, Yakub Memon, the sole convict on death row, was hanged on his 53rd birthday in a Nagpur jail on Thursday after failure of last-gasp efforts by his counsels to stall the execution that led the Supreme Court to hear his plea in the wee hours before throwing it out. Here are the latest developments:

Yakub Memon hanged in Nagpur jail: As it happened
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Nagpur/Mumbai: Over 22 years after the 1993 Mumbai blasts, Yakub Memon, the sole convict on death row, was hanged on his 53rd birthday in a Nagpur jail on Thursday after failure of last-gasp efforts by his counsels to stall the execution that led the Supreme Court to hear his plea in the wee hours before throwing it out. Here are the latest developments:

  • "The hanging is against all humanitarian norms and principals of fair play of justice. Ignoring the real and actual facts about the case, a person about whom there reportedly was no strong and credible evidence of having direct involvement in the supposed case has been put to death," a Hurriyat spokesman said, as per PTI.
  • Security of three Supreme Court judges, who dismissed the petition to stay Yakub Memon's death warrant leading to his execution this morning, has been beefed up as a precautionary measure. "Security of justices Dipak Misra, Prafulla Chandra Pant and Amitava Roy has been increased. It is a precautionary step," a Home Ministry official said, as per PTI.
  • "We must take terrorism as a challenge and should not project ourselves as divided so that we can succeed in defeating it. I think no other system can be as transparent as ours. A person who wants justice should be given chance in all forums and Yakub got the opportunity to keep his view point on all forums. So we must stay united in dealing with terror-related issues," says Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh.
  • Yakub Memon buried at Bada Kabristan.
  • Prayers being held for Yakub Memon before his burial, as per a TV channel.
  • Full justice will be given the day government will bring back Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon and punish them, says Congress' RS Surjewala. 
  • "The capital punishment to Mumbai blast convict Yakub Memon has been carried out after completing all legal procedures but it is necessary in national and people's interest that other cases of capital punishment are not kept suspended for an indefinite period. Keeping in mind the concerns of the people and doubts raised by them, the judiciary and the government should work towards solving these cases and not keep them pending for long" says BSP president Mayawati.
  • Crying over hanging of terrorist, chaos in Parliament over debate on terrorism, this is "height of political bankruptcy" of Congress, tweets BJP MP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
  • Yakub Memon's coffin reaches Bada Kabristan​, Mumbai.
  • There is heavy security outside burial ground at Bada Kabristan at Chandanwadi in Mumbai where Yakub Memon's body is expected to be buried.  
  • Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar says there was no benefit to be gained from giving death sentences to convicts, and called for the practice of death penalty to be abolished, as it has never acted as a deterrent against terrorism.

Also Read: There is no justice to hang one and leave the other 10, says Aiyar

  • All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi says he would want to see Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi being hanged to death for their role in the 2002 Godhra riots, as they too were as deserving of this punishment as 1993 Mumbai terror attacks convict Yakub Memon.

Also Read: Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi should also be hanged, says Owaisi post Yakub's execution

  • Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan says it is a sad day for both Indian democracy and judiciary. “It is unfortunate that Yakub Memon was denied an opportunity to take the rejection of mercy petition to the Court,” says Bhushan.
  • Funeral prayers for Yakub Memon will be held at Bada Kabristan at Chandanwadi​ instead of the Mahim Dargah, according to The Indian Express.
  • Yakub Memon's body has been taken to his brother Suleman's house in Bismillah Manzil, five minutes away from Al Hussaini building, says a daily.
  • Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria is at Memon's Mahim residence.
  • Yakub Memon's body has been taken to his apartment in Mahim.
  • The Jammu and Kashmir Police detains Independent MLA from north Kashmir's Langate constituency, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, after he took out a rally in Srinagar to protest the hanging of Yakub Memon and against the prevalence of capital punishment.
    Also Read: J&K Independent MLA detained after rally against Yakub hanging
  • A hearse carrying Yakub Memon's body left Mumbai airport towards Mahim dargah, near his apartment.
  • Those supporting Yakub Memon are wrong and want to divide society: Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan 
  • A statement by the Mumbai Police says: "Hereby order that nobody will photograph/videograph Yakub Memon's corpse during transportation." According to DCP (Detection) Dhananjay Kulkarni, "This step has been taken by police to ensure tranquillity and harmony in the city". He says it was being done to prevent visuals being used later by "anti-national elements to provoke people and youngsters". The ban will continue till midnight.
  • Yakub Memon's body is about to reach cemetery in Marine Lines.​
  • Yakub Memon's body arrives in Mumbai.  
  • The Mumbai Police has detained nearly 405 people as a preventive measure to maintain law and order in the wake of Yakub's hanging.
  • Memon's body, wrapped in 'kafan' (shroud) and placed in a tightly-sealed coffin box, will reach cemetery in Marine Lines soon. The Mumbai Police has not allowed Yakub's family to carry the body in a procession. Alternative arrangements have also been made for burial at the Mahim cemetery.
  • Security stepped up around Bada Kabristan at Chandanwadi where Yakub Memon's burial will take place.
  • Maharashtra Chief Minister Devednra Fadnavis, who was earlier scheduled to make a statement in the Maharashtra Legislature at 11 am, will speak on Memon's hanging at 2 pm.
  • A rope supplied by a Bihar jail was used to hang Memon. The rope was supplied by Buxar Central Jail.
    Also Read: Rope made in Bihar jail used to hang Yakub Memon
  • Yakub Memon was hanged till death in the 'Fansi Yard' under supervision of Jail Superintendent Yogesh Desai.
  • Yakub Memon's body is expected to reach Mumbai around noon.
  • Seven family members, including two women, are accompanying Yakum Memon's body to Mumbai.
  • 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon's one of the last wishes was fulfilled when he talked to his daughter. Memon wanted to meet his daughter before being hanged.
    Also Read: This was Yakub Memon's last wish before being hanged
  • An alert has been sounded in Delhi following Memon's hanging in Nagpur jail. Delhi Police PRO Rajan Bhagat tells news agency IANS that police personnel are already vigilant and watchful after the terror attack in Punjab and the alert is being maintained. 
    Also Read: Delhi on alert after Yakub Memon's hanging
  • The execution of Yakub Memon is a "misguided attempt to prevent terrorism", says Amnesty International India.
  • #Yakubhanged, a hashtag used by twitteratis to share their views about 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused Yakun Memon's execution, is a top trend on Twitter.
  • Yakub Memon's body reaches Nagpur airport. The body will be flown to Mumbai in an IndiGo flight.
  • Memon's brother Sulaiman submitted an application to the jail authorities, demanding handing over of the body to enable them perform the last rites in Mumbai. The request was immediately processed and permission - with stringent conditions - was granted and the body handed over.
  • Yakub Memon's body has been handed over to his brother. Ambulance leaves from Nagpur prison towards airport. ​Memon will be buried in Mumbai.
    Also Read: Yakub Memon's body handed over to family
  • Security has been tightened in Mumbai in view of the execution of Memon, especially in Mahim area where his family resides and sensitive localities of the metropolis. Top police officers visited Mahim and reviewed the arrangements in the wee hours today.
  • Criticising Yakub Memon's execution, Communist Party of India leader D Raja says an eye for an eye cannot be the philosophy of India's judicial prudence.
  • Yakub Memon today became the third terror convict to have been sent to the gallows in the last four years. 
    Also Read: Yakub Memon hanged: These terrorists were executed before him
  • BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain says that justice has been delayed but not denied to the victims of 1993 Mumbai terror attacks over the execution of Yakub Memon.
  • Commenting on 1993 Mumbai terror blast convict Yakub Memon's execution, Nationalist Congress Party leader Tariq Anwar says implementing capital punishment in 'peace-loving' India may not be right.
  • Yakub Memon's body to be flown to Mumbai from Nagpur in an air ambulance at 10:45 am.
  • Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, on Twitter, says he was “saddened by news that our government has hanged a human being. State-sponsored killing diminishes us all by reducing us to murderers too.”
    Also Read: Saddened by Yakub Memon's execution: Shashi Tharoor
  • Shiv Sena says that people who were against 1993 Mumbai terror blast convict Yakub Memon's execution should know that the country runs only according to the law.

          Also Read: Shiv Sena slams challengers of Memon's execution, says 'country runs according to law'

  • Defending 1993 Mumbai terror blast convict Yakub Memon's execution, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Siddharth Nath Singh says that the Supreme Court's ruling is a slap on the face of those who were 'trying to protect a terrorist'.
    Also Read: BJP defends Memon's execution, says 'slap on face' of those trying to protect a terrorist

  • Congress leader Digvijay Singh says the government should show "similar commitment" in all cases of terror as it showed in the case of 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon.
    Also Read: Yakub Memon's hanging: Show similar commitment in terror cases, says Digvijay
  • Yakub Memon, the lone 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict who was hanged to death today, became the third terror convict to have been sent to the gallows in the last four years.
  • Yakub Memon's brother Sulaiman Memon and cousin Usman Memon​ leave Hotel Dwarka for Nagpur jail. Memon's wife and daughter are at an undisclosed location.
  • Heavy police deployment outside Hotel Dwarka where Yakub Memon's family is staying. Yakub's brother Sulaiman Memon will be escorted by police to jail. 
  • Yakub Memon on Thursday became the first convict in 31 years to be hanged to death in Nagpur Jail and the fourth in the country in the last 10 years.
    Also Read: Yakub Memon first in 31 years to be executed in Nagpur jail
  • Reports say Yakub Memon likely to be buried inside the Nagpur Central Jail complex in Maharashtra.
    Also Read: Yakub Memon to be buried in Nagpur jail
  • Chief Judicial Magistrate of Nagpur MM Deshpande was present in the Fansi Yard. She read out the operating part of the TADA court order which awarded capital punishment to Yakub before he was made to stand on a stool and the lever pulled by the hangman.
  • Memon's hanging has been videorecorded.
  • Yakub's body will be handed over to relatives after formalities: Government sources
  • Yakub Memon is dead, confirm doctors at 7:01 am.
  • Yakub Memon's body will be taken out of Nagpur prison at 11 am.
  • A post-mortem is being performed by a doctor on Memon's body. 
  • Yakub Memon offered Namaz and read Quran before being hanged.
  • Memon's body has been sent for an autopsy by a medical team from a Nagpur government hospital.
  • Yakub Memon's body will hang for 30 minutes.
  • Memon's body will be flown to Mumbai. Security at Nagpur airport and around Yakub Memon's Mumbai residence heightened.
    Also Read: Security tightened around Yakub Memon's residence in Mumbai
  • According to reports, 8-10 people witnessed Memon's hanging.
  • In a bid to avoid disturbance or traffic congestion, the Maharashtra Police advises parking of media OB vans away from the road next to Memon's residence.
  • Mumbai blasts victims welcome Yakub Memon's hanging. 
  • Fadnavis will make an official announcement in the Assembly on Memon's hanging at 11 am.
    Also Read: Fadnavis likely to make statement on Yakub Memon's execution in Maharashtra Assembly
  • Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis calls a meeting to discuss security measures.
  • A medical team pronounces him dead. 
  • It's confirmed! Yakub Memon, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, was hanged at 6.35 am.
  • 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon hanged in Nagpur jail. However, no official announcement has been made in this regard.
  • The 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict has been taken to the gallows.
  • Yakub Memon's body will reach Mumbai at 2 pm.
  • Yakub Memon's family, staying at a hotel in Nagpur, has refused to talk to the media.
  • Yakub Memon, 1993 Mumbai blasts convict, will be hanged shortly. Some reports say he will be hanged at 6:30 am.
  • Memon wakes up at 3:30 am. He has been permitted a warm bath and provided a set of fresh clothes -- hours ahead of his scheduled hanging.
  • Preparations to bury Yakub after his execution are underway at Mumbai's Chandanwadi graveyard.
  • Doctors who examined Yakub before he could be sent to gallows have declared him fit.
  • Security outside Nagpur Central Jail has been tightened before the hanging.
  • Yakub's lawyer Anand Grover says he has run out of legal remedies. I hope he has a dignified death, says Grover.
  • Execution process begins inside Nagpur jail. Yakub Memon has been given new clothes before his hanging.
  • AG has informed the SC that Memon's family is with him in the jail right now, and is meeting him.
  • After the Supreme Court's wee hours verdict, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi says he's done his job, and adds "it's not about victory".
    Also Read: Midnight hearing: Know how SC rejected Yakub Memon's plea to stall execution
  • Memon's lawyer Anand Grover says the apex court's order is a tragic mistake and a wrong decision.
  • The court's decision brings the curtain down on the last ditch attempts by Memon's lawyers to stop the execution scheduled at 7 am at Nagpur Central Jail.
  • "Stay of death warrant would be a travesty of justice. The plea is dismissed," says Justice Misra in an order in Court Room 4 which was opened for an unprecedented 90-minute hearing that started at 3:20 am and ended a little before dawn.
  • He adds the rejection could have been assailed before the Supreme Court. Justice Dipak Misra observes that ample time was granted after rejection of the first mercy petition to prepare Yakub for the last and final meeting with family members and all other purposes.
  • Dictating the order, Justice Dipak Misra, heading a three-judge bench, ​says ample opportunity was granted to the convict after rejection of the first mercy petition by the President on April 11, 2014 which was communicated to him on May 26, 2014.
  • The Supreme Court dismisses Memon's last-minute attempt to escape the gallows by rejecting his plea for a stay on the death warrant.
  • Opposing Memon's plea, Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi contends that Memon's fresh plea amounts to abusing the system. A death warrant upheld just 10 hours ago by three judges cannot be quashed, he says, adding that the whole attempt appeared to be to prolong the stay in jail and get the sentenced commuted. 
  • Grover says a death row convict is entitled to 14 days reprieve after rejection of mercy plea for various purposes.
  • Senior lawyers - Anand Grover and Yug Chowdhury – say the authorities were "hell bent" on executing Memon without giving him the right to challenge the rejection of his mercy petition by the President as right to life of a condemned prisoner last till his last breath.
  • After consultations, the CJI constitutes the same three-judge bench that had earlier decided on the death warrant issue to go into the late night plea.
  • On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had upheld the death warrant and President Pranab Mukherjee and Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao rejected Memon's mercy petition. Late in the night, lawyers for Memon changed strategy and rushed to the residence of Chief Justice of India HL Dattu and petitioned him for an urgent hearing to stay the hanging on the ground that 14 days time should be given to death row convict to enable him challenge the rejection and for other purposes.
  • The Supreme Court commences hearing on 1993 Mumbai blast convict Yakub Memon's petition seeking stay on the execution of his death sentence by 14 days.
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