Show some leniency, don't hang him: Yakub Memon's wife begs for pardon

Rahin Memon begged that her husband be allowed to serve a life sentence and not be executed as he had willingly surrendered.

Rahin Memon, the wife of Yakub Memon, the only death-row convict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, has appealed to the judiciary and the government to commute her husband’s capital punishment to life term.

“I have full faith in the judiciary. I ask the Government of India for pardon for Yakub so that his death sentence can be commuted,” she said.

Yakub Memon is scheduled to be hanged on July 30 at Nagpur Central Prison after his curative petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The apex court would hear on Monday his plea for a stay on his execution.

Yakub has also submitted a fresh mercy petition to the Maharashtra governor.

Rahin said she believed that her husband was innocent and had willingly surrendered to the authorities. Rahin said she would be happy even if he was allowed to serve a life sentence.

“I personally believe that (only) someone who is innocent will surrender. But still, if they feel he is not innocent... they should consider that he has surrendered and show him some leniency,” she said.

The Memon family, Rahin claimed, had not fled India after the blasts (contrary to Central Bureau of Investigation’s case) but had left the country before the explosions rocked Bombay, as the city was then known, to celebrate Eid in Dubai. “We always went to Dubai for Eid,” Rahin said.

“My daughter has not been with him (Yakub) for a single day. She is waiting for him to come home so that she can get a chance to be with him,” Rahin added.

As many as 257 people were killed and over 700 injured in the 12 serial blasts in Mumbai on March 12, 1993. Yakub Memon is the only convict whose death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. His mercy petition was also rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee. 

Image: Rahin Memon at Nagpur Central Prison. She pleaded that Yakub not be hanged. Photograph: PTI