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Several family members of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, who was hanged today for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, were among the accused in the case and some of them were discharged for want of evidence.
Yakub's parents Abdul Razak Memon and Hanifa Memon lived in the eight-storey Al-Husseini building near historic Durgah of Makhdoom Shah Baba in Mahim, Central Mumbai.
It was in this building that the bomb blasts conspiracy was hatched by Mushtaq alias Tiger Memon, Yakub's brother and the right-hand man of fugitive accused and mastermind Dawood Ibrahim.
On the eve of the bomb blasts on March 12, 1993, RDX, used for the first time in India for explosions, was planted in cars and scooters in the garages of Al-Husseini building by Tiger Memon's men.
Yakub, who was hanged today at the Central Jail in Nagpur, was a Chartered Accountant. He has a flat in his name on the second floor in this building.
His father Abdul Razak Memon was an avid cricket buff and himself a player in the Mumbai league. He was popularly known as 'Tiger', after former national captain Nawab of Pataudi, and was keen that his son Mushtaq become a cricketer when he grows up.
Abdul Razak was arrested after he returned from abroad along with other members of Memon family in 1994. He fell sick in jail and was granted bail after few years. He died in 2001 at the age of 73.
His wife Hanifa Memon was booked for abetment of terror acts of her son Tiger and his friends. She too was released on bail after being lodged in jail for few years. Eventually, the TADA court acquitted her due to lack of evidence.
Yakub's brother Mushtaq Memon alias Tiger was allegedly a smuggler amd represented the illegal business of Dawood Ibrahim in India. He fled to Dubai a day prior to the blasts and from there moved to Pakistan where he is believed to be hiding along with Dawood. He is one of India's most wanted criminals.
He masterminded the 1993 serial blasts along with Dawood to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid.
