India Executes Organiser Of Mumbai Bombings

A man accused of organising a series of bomb attacks in India which left 257 people dead has been hanged.

Yakub Memon was put to death after his latest appeal for clemency was rejected by India's Supreme Court.

It came amid a series of protests both for and against his execution.

Memon was accused of being the "driving spirit" behind the dozen or so blasts that ripped through India's financial capital Mumbai on 13 March 1993.

The 53-year-old had spent two decades in jail after his family was accused of carrying out the bombings that heavily damaged the stock exchange, office buildings, flats and at least one five-star hotel.

At the time of his detention in 1994, India's interior minister S B Chavan said that documents carried by Memon proved Pakistan's intelligence services had been involved in the bombings.

It led to Pakistan denying involvement.

According to prosecutors, Memon was a middleman in the plot, having arranged finance, set up travel plans for others who took part and stockpiled weapons.

The motivation was said to have been revenge for the destruction of a 16th century Muslim holy site by a mob of Hindu nationalists.

The tearing down of the Babri Mosque angered Muslims and led to rioting across India that left more than 1,000 dead.

Police consider Memon's brother, 'Tiger' Memon, and mafia boss Dawood Ibrahim to be the overall masterminds behind the attacks.

Both men remain at large.

Yakub Memon's defence team had hoped that he would be spared execution because he co-operated with the authorities.

In the days before his hanging at Nagpur, it emerged he helped Indian intelligence solve the case and confirm a link to Pakistan.

Campaigners say the execution sends a message that even if someone co-operates, they will get nothing in return.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said: "It's extremely sad that India has gone ahead, we had been hoping India will now call for a moratorium."

Amnesty International criticised the move, saying: "The Indian government essentially killed a man in cold blood to show that killing is wrong."

But victims welcomed the news. One man, whose name wasn't given, told news channel India Today: "The government has given us a ray of hope. We have to feel that full justice has been received."

Security has been boosted in the area of Mumbai where Memon used to live in case of intercommunal violence.