Yaqoob Memon, Accused of Designing and Executing the Deadliest Attack in India, Executed

Yaqoob Memon, accused of participating in the planning and execution of the deadliest attack in India that resulted in the deaths of 257 people in a series of bombings in 1993 in Mumbai, was executed by hanging on Thursday morning. Memon was executed on August 8 in Nagpur prison in the state of Maharashtra in western India, on his 53rd birthday. NDTV, CNN-IBN, and the Press Trust of India have confirmed the execution. No official statement has been released regarding this matter. The news of the execution was shared on Twitter by NDTV India. During the dozens of bombings that occurred in March 1993 in Mumbai, targets such as the Indian Airlines office, a luxury hotel, and the Bombay Stock Exchange were hit, leading to a total of 257 deaths. The 1993 attack in Mumbai is considered the deadliest of its kind in Indian history. It is said that Mumbai's criminal organizations, predominantly controlled by Muslims, were heavily involved in the planning and execution of this attack. Reports indicate that they carried out these attacks in retaliation for violence that led to the deaths of over a thousand Muslim citizens in India. Yaqoob Memon was the only one executed among the 11 convicted individuals involved in this attack. His trial and the final execution sentence have elicited reactions in India. Some believe that Yaqoob Memon's brother, Tiger Memon, and Dawood Ibrahim, the head of Mumbai's criminals, were the main architects of the bombings. Both have been fugitives since 1993 and remain at large. Meanwhile, according to reports from Agence France-Presse, a former judge of the Indian Supreme Court, Harjit Singh Bedi, stated that reports of his cooperation with investigators and his voluntary return from Pakistan to India should have been given importance. However, other reports in Indian media have also mentioned his 'arrest.' For instance, the Hindu newspaper referred to police reports about Memon's arrest at a Delhi railway station in August 1994. All members of the Memon family had gone to the UAE a few days before the attacks, but all except for Tiger, who is a fugitive, were arrested upon their return to India. Eight members of this family were accused of involvement in the attacks, all of whom denied the charges. However, reports about the arrest of the Memon family members also have various narratives. The Hindustan Times states that the plan to bring the family back to India was executed with a very secretive scheme. The Hindustan Times claims that according to a document it obtained, Yaqoob Memon did not surrender but was arrested. Other reports indicate that Memon was tried under an anti-terrorism law that was enacted immediately after the Mumbai attacks, a law that faced various criticisms and was violated shortly after its enactment. India rarely carries out death sentences, but in recent years, with several clemency requests being rejected by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India, the execution of such sentences has increased. While some groups called for the death sentence not to be carried out, other groups of Indian citizens had recently gathered demanding the execution of Yaqoob Memon.