Yerwada man who hanged Kasab executed Yakub as well

Yakub Memon, the lone 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict, was today executed by the same prison constable from Yerwada jail who carried out the hanging of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, one of the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, three years ago.

The hangman, whose identity has been kept under wraps due to security reasons, had arrived at the Central Prison here a week ago as part of a 20-member team of prison personnel from Yerwada Jail in Pune.

He had pulled the lever to hang Kasab on November 21, 2012 at Yerwada.

Jail Superintendent of Yerwada, Yogesh Desai, who led the team during Kasab's hanging in Pune, was transferred to the Nagpur Central Prison a few months back, apparently to oversee Yakub's hanging.

According to jail officials, the constable executed the hanging with "clinical precision".

Also, another constable from Yerwada was brought here a week ago and trained with two others to assist the hangman. The other members of the team were entrusted with the task of preparing the drop and the platform in the execution yard (Fansi Yard).

Nagpur and Yerwada are the two Central Prisons in Maharashtra equipped with the hanging facility.

The previous execution at Nagpur jail was carried out in 1984, when two brothers from Amravati had been hanged for murder.