Death @Dawn

He finally came back to Mumbai after eight years, but not to give his daughter the promised hug. On Thursday , when the body of Yakub Memon, the only condemned convict out of 100 held guilty in the 1993 blasts case, reached Mahim, the sky remained overcast, mirroring the sombre mood of thousands who would soon gather there to pay their last respects.
After he was hanged on his 54th birthday at 7 am at Nagpur Central jail, Yakub's body was brought to Mumbai on an Indigo flight and was later laid to rest at Bada Qabrastan at Marine Lines.
Before being taken to the cemetery , his body was taken to his mother Hanifa's house at Bismillah Manzil at Mahim, where, according to a confidential police report, a crowd of over 10,000 gathered for the namaz-e-janaza (prayers for the dead). The crowd at the Qabrastan swelled to over 15,000 when another prayer session was held and he was, at 5.15 pm buried beside his father Abdul Razzak's grave The crowd was peaceful and disciplined and when stray voices were raised, announcements were made on the public address system to keep the peace; they were reminded that they were there to pay respects to a departed one and to pray for the family .
Mumbai on Thursday woke up to news of the execution and to the sight of the city's en tire 41,000-strong police force out on duty to ensure that no untoward incident took place.
Shops in several areas including Null Bazaar Dongri and parts of Dharavi and Kurla downed shutters as news spread of the execution. On Mahim's Cadell Road, where Yakub once stayed, many people skipped work, choosing to attend the funeral prayers instead.
Yakub's mother, wife Rahin and daughter Zubeida read the Quran and prayed for him as his body was kept for a while at the mother's home. His brother Suleiman and cousin Usman accompanied the body for the burial.
From Nagpur, the Memons flew into Mumbai onboard IndiGo flight 6E 544, which departed at 11.06 am and landed at 12.10 pm.The body was carried in an open coffin, labelled “human remains“, in the cargo hold. Suleiman, Usman, three cops and a lawyer accompanied the body .