Yakub Memon's last journey: Noose in Nagpur and finally Mumbai's bada qabristan

When he was finally hanged in the Nagpur central jail, after over 20 years of being imprisoned, Yakub Memon was reportedly calm as he was escorted to the gallows, reciting a verse from the Quran right until the hood was placed over his head.

Despite reports claiming that the lone convict sentenced to death for his involvement in the Mumbai 1993 serial blasts had hallucinations and was filled with rage before the execution, a Times of India report quoted a Nagpur jail official as saying that Yakub was calm to the very end.

A Times of India report said that Yakub had written a final mercy petition to be given to the president on the night before his hanging but it wasn’t delivered. He read the Quran late into Wednesday night. When he woke on the morning of his execution at 5 am, the first question he reportedly asked was about his mercy petition.

There was no birthday cake for Yakub or last minute call to his 21-year-old daughter. He was taken for one last medical check up before being taken to the gallows, reported the Telegraph.  

An official told the newspaper that the body was kept hanging for a half hour in keeping with procedure and was then shifted to the prison hospital for a post-mortem. “The body was later embalmed, placed in a coffin and flown to Mumbai,” the official said.

However, what should have been a solemn ride back to his city for Yakub’s brother Suleiman and cousin Usman, who accompanied the body on an Indigo flight, turned out to be a nightmaare. One of them first barely made the flight and then they had to endure intrusive and often hostile passengers during the journey.

According to a Mumbai Mirror report , passengers tried to click their photos, spoke about the Yakub’s case loudly and Suleiman had to tell some television news crews to return to their seats after they attempted to get a quote out of them.

When the body was taken off the aircraft at Mumbai airport, someone shouted ‘body’ and people began to take pictures of Yakub’s body being taken out, upsetting Suleiman and Usman. It also forced the airline crew to tell passengers to deplane immediately so that procedure could be followed.

An Indian Express report said that many of the passengers on board the flight were journalists who stood around on the runway even as the body was taken out of the aircraft. The police had to tell the journalists to move and then took the body out of the aircraft and into a hearse, which then left from a gate different from the one normally used to exit the Mumbai airport.

The body was then taken to Yakub’s mother’s house in Mahim in central Mumbai where, according to one Times of India report, close to 10,000 people gathered for the final prayers, a request from the family which the city police had acceded to. However, the police had reportedly  denied the family permission to display Yakub’s face. Mumbai Police commissioner Rakesh Maria was also present at the site to ensure things went off smoothly.

After prayers in Mahim, the body was taken to the graveyard in Marine Lines where Yakub was to be laid to rest alongside his father Abdul Razzak. The number of people present at the graveyard to offer prayers was pegged at anywhere between 8,000 to 15,000 as people from the city’s suburbs and even from neighbouring Thane turned up for the last rites. The police was also present in large numbers with an Indian Express report pegging the number of cops at over 7,500.

While the crowd was peaceful through out, there were announcements made on a public address system throughout asking people not to shout slogans, to pay their respects to the deceased person and to pray for the family, the Times of India reported.

Once the body was brought in, a crowd of people gathered around the body hoping for a glimpse of Yakub’s face but had no such luck. The Indian Express, in a report , described the final rites:

Shrouded in a green chaddar with flower patterns sewn on it, the body was brought to the grave by the crowd, people taking turns to shoulder the janaaza.

After the final rites, volunteers ushered people out, and a variety of people stopped by to speak with the Mumbai police commissioner: some to introduce themselves, others to speak about the 1993 blasts, and one to give him a couple of roses. The Memons meanwhile accepted condolences in the graveyard, with Suleiman telling the Indian Express that whatever happened was god’s will and all they could do was “pray for salvation”.