'Innocents are being called terrorists', Yakub Memon on his conviction

Mumbai, Jul 30: Yakub Memon, who was hanged today for his role in 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, had reacted with an angry outburst saying "innocent people are being called terrorists" when a TADA court here had pronounced him guilty on September 12, 2006.

After hearing the verdict, he had said, "We do not want to engage lawyers to argue on quantum of sentence...13 years have passed and innocent people are being called terrorists."

"We have already been branded as terrorists and shall face the consequences," said Yakub, the younger brother of absconding accused Tiger Memon, when he was convicted along with his brothers Essa and Yusuf by designated Judge P D Kode.

A Chartered Accountant by profession, 53-year-old Yakub always kept aloof from the other accused, but on the day of judgement he could not control his emotions and shouted that he was not responsible for the bomb blasts.

In another incident prior to the judgement, Yakub had lost his cool one day and ran menacingly before the then TADA Judge J N Patel saying: "Tiger was right in telling me that I should not go to India with family as we would be hounded."

The judge found Yakub guilty of conspiracy and financing the serial blasts through co-accused Mulchand Shah and the firm M/s Tejarat International - owned by his brother Ayub Memon , who is absconding.

Yakub was also charged with providing tickets to co-accused who were sent to Pakistan via Dubai for training in arms and ammunition.

He was also charged with purchasing vehicles and using them in the blasts by planting explosives. A series of 13 explosions had rocked the country's commercial capital on March 12, 1993, in which 257 people were killed and 713 injured, besides property worth Rs 27 crore was damaged.

The trial commenced on June 30, 1995 and 13,000 pages of evidence was recorded, with CBI examining 686 witnesses, including two approvers who unfolded the conspiracy.

The blasts were masterminded by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim with the help of his lieutenants Tiger Memon and Mohammed Dossa, allegedly at the instance of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI to avenge the demolition of disputed Babri Masjid, the CBI claimed in the chargesheet. Dawood, Tiger and Dossa are absconding.

PTI