Maha govt orders inquiry into glorification of Yakub Memon's grave, committee to probe

As the beautification of 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon's grave has sparked outrage, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the shocking glorification. A committee will be formed to probe the matter and an investigation will be initiated soon. Sources have informed Republic that electricity was supplied to the LED lights placed on Memon's grave in the cemetery.

The BJP has questioned the erstwhile government over the beautification of the terrorist's grave as it had taken place during the regime of the MVA government. It is important to note that after this matter came to the fore, the lighting arrangement was removed.

BJP MLA Ram Kadam said, "Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister. During that period, the grave of the dreaded terrorist Yakub Memon, who carried out the 1993 bombing in Mumbai at the behest of Pakistan, turned into a mausoleum. Is this their love for Mumbai, is this their patriotism? Along with Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Rahul Gandhi should apologize to the people of Mumbai".

After the uproar, the Mumbai Police removed the LED lights and a DCP-level officer commenced a probe into the grave's facelift. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MLAs wrote a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, requesting an inquiry over the beautification of the grave. 

Yakub Memon - the terrorist who killed 257 innocents

Yakub Memon was convicted over his financial involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. His brother Tiger Memon is one of the prime suspects who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested him in 1994. 

He was later convicted by the TADA court and was sentenced to death in 2007. After all the mercy petitions were rejected, despite Supreme Court's unprecedented mid-night hearing hours before his execution, Memon was hanged to death at the Nagpur central jail on July 30, 2015 after 21 years of imprisonment. The serials blasts had rocked Bombay (now Mumbai) on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people and injuring more than 1400.