India executes 1993 Mumbai bomber

Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, the only convict sentenced to death in India's deadliest terror attack in 1993, was executed early Thursday after President Pranab Mukerjee rejected a last-minute mercy plea. Memon was hanged at Nagpur jail in the western state of Maharashtra around 7:00 am local time (0130 GMT) on his 53rd birthday. He had been incarcerated inside the prison since 1994.

Memon was convicted of the March 1993 Mumbai bombings that killed 257 people. The Bombay Stock Exchange, the offices of Air India and a luxury hotel were among several targets of the blasts. The attacks were seen as revenge for the demolition of a 16th-century mosque in northern India by Hindu nationalists, which had sparked religious riots in many parts of the country, leaving more than 800 people dead, most of them Muslims.

The PTI news agency said that Memon's body was due to be handed over to his family, many of whom are believed to be the real culprits behind the attack and are thought to be in hiding abroad to avoid Indian prosecution.

End of moratorium

Memon denied any involvement in the blasts during a lengthy trial and appeal process that bitterly divided opinion in India and led to calls from rights activists and a former judge for his life to be spared. This came as public opinion on capital punishment is beginning to change across India.

Executions are only rarely carried out in India, even in some egregious cases.
But President Mukherjee has rejected a number of clemency pleas in the case over the past three years, ending a de facto eight-year moratorium on capital punishment in India.

ss/sgb (AP, AFP)