1993 Bombay blasts: Though Yakub Memon emerges as sole accused, Memon family members also faced trial

MUMBAI: Though Yakub Abdul Razak Memon became the sole accused to get capital punishment for the 1993 Bombay serial blasts, some other members of the Memon clan had also been figured as accused in the case and some of them discharged for want of evidence.

Parents of Yakub, Abdul Razak Memon and Hanifa Memon, lived in the eight-storied Al-Husseini building near the 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 righthand 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, whose death sentence was today confirmed by Supreme Court, is a chartered accountant and has a flat in his name on the second floor in this building.

The following are the members of the Memon family who faced the trial:

Abdul Razak Memon: Father of Tiger Memon, 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.

Hanifa Memon: Tiger's mother and the household chief, Hanifa was respected by the entire Memon clan. She was booked for abetment of terror acts of her son Tiger and his friends. She too was released on bail after lodging in jail for few years. Eventually, the TADA court acquitted her due to lack of evidence.

Mushtaq Memon alias Tiger: Allegedly a smuggler, he 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.