Yakub Memon's cousin Usman Memon, lawyer visit jail

NAGPUR: Usman Memon, the cousin of Yakub Memon, the sole death-row convict of 1993 Mumbai blasts case, visited the Central Prison here this evening.

Yakub, lodged in the Nagpur Central Prison, is scheduled to be hanged on July 30. However a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court today delivered a split verdict on his plea for stay to execution and referred it to the Chief Justice who set up a three-judge bench to decide the matter.

Usman, accompanied by advocate Anil Gedam, Yakub's local lawyer, was inside the prison for over three hours. They didn't speak to reporters while leaving the prison, so it could not be known whether they met Yakub.

Meanwhile, sources said that authorities have allowed Yakub Memon's family to send a cake for him tomorrow. July 30 happens to be his birthday.

He may celebrate his 53rd birthday in the company of jail officers and a couple of inmates tomorrow night. His wife Rahin and other relatives who met him last week had requested the authorities to allow them to send him a cake.

Prison sources said that Memon would be allowed to celebrate his birthday in a low-key manner, so as to keep him in good humour before the scheduled execution.

Tight security arrangements have been made in and around the jail. The police have deployed a Quick Response Team. Entry in the jail premises have been restricted and no private vehicles are allowed in the vicinity.