Yakub to hang on Thursday morning unless Prez stays execution

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, July 29

Yakub Memon, the only conspirator in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case to be sentenced to death, will be hanged at 7am at the Nagpur jail on Thursday unless President Pranab Mukherjee intervenes, state government sources said here on Wednesday.

Memon had on Tuesday submitted a mercy plea before Mukherjee on the ground that earlier petition rejected by the president was submitted by his relatives.

However, Special Public Prosecutor in the Mumbai blasts case, Ujjwal Nikam, told reporters that there was no bar against the state government carrying out the hanging since the Supreme Court today held the death warrant against Memon valid.

According to Nikam, the President will have to stay the death warrant in order to stop the hanging from happening.

Shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision, Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao also rejected Memon's mercy plea.

Amidst demands from a cross section of society that Memon be spared the hangman’s noose, the Maharashtra government is reviewing security in Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune and other major cities in the state.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the security situation with Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal and Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria.

The Mumbai police have intensified night patrolling and searches of vehicles on highways at night in order to avoid any untoward incident, police said.