The
man considered to be the mastermind behind coordinated bomb attacks in
Mumbai in 1993 that left 257 people dead has been executed. Yakub
Memon was hanged at a prison in the western state of Maharashtra at
around 6.30 a.m. local time, Indian Home Ministry spokesman Kuldeep
Dhatwalia told CNN Thursday.
In the
hours before the execution was carried out, a group of prominent lawyers
contacted India's chief justice to seek a postponement of Memon's
hanging for two weeks, the last in a long succession of appeals for
mercy.
In an unprecedented move, the
Supreme Court held a special early-morning session to discuss the
request before rejecting it, Dhatwalia said.
Memom died on his 53rd birthday.
He
was originally sentenced to death in 2007 as a key conspirator behind
12 blasts that ripped through several hotels, marketplaces and buildings
in Mumbai on March 12, 1993.
According
to the Indian prosecution team, those assaults were ordered by the
local underworld in revenge for the demolition of a 16th century mosque
in northern India by Hindu zealots. The mosque's destruction triggered a wave of religious violence that left hundreds dead.
cnn.com
