India on Thursday executed Yakub Memon for his role in the nation's deadliest attacks, a series of bombings in Mumbai more than two decades ago, police said.
Memon was hanged at Nagpur jail in the western state of Maharashtra on the day of his 53rd birthday after last-ditch pleas for clemency were rejected by India's president and supreme court.
"It is complete. Yakub Memon was hanged today at 7:00 am (0130 GMT)," Nagpur police sub-inspector R.V Halami told AFP.
The Bombay Stock Exchange, the offices of Air India and a luxury hotel were among about a dozen targets of the March 1993 blasts, which killed 257 people in the deadliest attacks ever to hit India.
They were believed to have been staged by Mumbai's Muslim-dominated underworld in retaliation for anti-Muslim violence that had killed more than 1,000 people.
Security was tightened near the targets in Mumbai on Thursday.
Memon, a former accountant by profession, was the only one of 11 people convicted over the atrocity to have his death sentence upheld on appeal. The sentences on the others were commuted to life imprisonment.
He denied any involvement in the blasts, during a staggered trial and appeal process that bitterly divided opinion in India and led to calls from rights activists and an ex-judge for his life to be spared.
Amnesty India described the execution as "cruel and inhuman".
"This execution will not deliver justice for the 1993 Mumbai blasts. 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.
Former Supreme Court judge Harjit Singh Bedi had also said reports that Memon co-operated with investigators and returned voluntarily from Pakistan, where he fled, should have been taken into account when hearing his appeal.
Others pointed out that one of his brothers, Tiger Memon, was alleged to have masterminded the attacks, along with Mumbai gang boss Dawood Ibrahim. Both have been on the run since 1993.
The Memon family left for Dubai in the days before the 1993 bombings, but all except Tiger were arrested when they returned to India the following year.
Eight members were charged over the attacks, all of whom denied any role in the atrocity.
Memon's father died during the long-running legal proceedings, three were acquitted and three others are serving life in prison, including Yakub's sister-in-law, Rubina Memon.
The attack also embroiled Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, who is serving a prison sentence for buying weapons from gangsters accused of orchestrating the bombings.
Executions are only rarely carried out in India, but President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected a number of mercy pleas in the past three years, ending a de facto eight-year moratorium.
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.
The Press Trust of India reported that Memon's body was due to be handed over to his family, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was expected to make a statement on the execution to the state assembly later Thursday.
AFP
Thu Jul 30 2015
Memon was hanged at Nagpur jail in the western state of Maharashtra on the day of his 53rd birthday after last-ditch pleas for clemency were rejected by India's president and supreme court.
AWANI Pagi: Perang Israel-Iran: Perang alaf baharu?
Diskusi 8.30 pagi Sabtu bersama Jumaat bersama Pakar Hubungan Antarabangsa, Prof Dr. Ahmad Marthada Mohamed mengenai kemungkinan lebih buruk boleh dijangkakan di rantau Asia Barat selepas Israel bertindak melancarkan peluru berpandu dan membedil bandar Isfahan di Iran semalam.
Piala FA Inggeris: Status Erling Haaland masih tanda tanya
Pep Guardiola mendedahkan bahawa pemain berusia 23 tahun itu meminta untuk dikeluarkan tanpa memberi alasan yang kukuh.
Anwar hadir selesai kemelut MPN Sabah
Beliau mempengerusikan perjumpaan tersebut yang dipercayai bagi menyelesaikan kemelut politik PKR di negeri ini.
Piala Asia B-23: Vietnam intai peluang benam Malaysia, layak ke suku akhir
Vietnam mencari peluang untuk memastikan slot ke suku akhir Piala Asia B23 apabila berdepan Malaysia malam ini.
AWANI Pagi: Berita tumpuan & menarik di astroawani.com [20 April 2024]
AWANI Pagi bersama Geegee Ahmad & Azib Zikry membincangkan keperluan pengenalan Skim Kemalangan Bukan Bencana Kerja (SKBBK) di mana Presiden Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC), Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani akan menekankan bahawa langkah proaktif itu adalah untuk melindungi hak-hak pekerja khususnya apabila melibatkan kemalangan jalan raya di luar waktu bekerja.
Lelaki bertindak bakar diri di luar mahkamah New York
Max Azzarello yang berasal dari St. Augustine, Florida, dilaporkan telah diselamatkan dan berada dalam keadaan kritikal.
[TERKINI] Ketua Polis Negara paling lama meninggal dunia
Bekas Ketua Polis Negara, Tun Mohamed Hanif Omar, meninggal dunia pada usia 85 tahun di kediamannya di Shah Alam pada 2.15 pagi Sabtu.
Pasangan suami isteri tidak sangka dua kali tolak tawaran, masih ada rezeki tunai haji tahun ini
Selepas surat tawaran berada di dalam tangan, dia dan isteri giat membuat persiapan demi memastikan mereka memperoleh haji yang mabrur.
Lelaki bertindak bakar diri di luar Mahkamah New York
Seorang lelaki bertindak membakar dirinya di luar mahkamah New York di mana perbicaraan bagi kes bekas presiden Amerika syarikat Donald Trump sedang berjalan
Perlu isyhtihar jika bawa lebih S$20,000
: Semua pengembara yang memasuki atau meninggalkan Singapura membawa mata wang fizikal dan instrumen boleh niaga (CBNI) dengan nilai lebih 20 Ribu Dolar Singapura atau bersamaan dalam mata wang asing.
Pengisytiharan CBNI ini supaya membantu usaha Singapura membanteras aktiviti jenayah seperti pengubahan wang haram dan Keperluan sedemikian adalah kebiasaan di banyak negara.
Pengisytiharan CBNI ini supaya membantu usaha Singapura membanteras aktiviti jenayah seperti pengubahan wang haram dan Keperluan sedemikian adalah kebiasaan di banyak negara.