The Maharashtra government has ordered a probe into allegations that the grave of Mumbai blasts case convict Yakub Memon in Mumbai has been beautified and turned into a "mazaar" -- shrine.
The state home department has asked Mumbai Police to conduct a detailed probe and submit a report.
The matter was raised on social media by Ram Kadam, BJP legislator from Ghatokpar West, yesterday. Sharing pictures of the spot, Mr Kadam targeted former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleging that the grave was turned into a shrine during his tenure.
The before-and-after pictures show that a marble wall has replaced the concrete, run down wall earlier.
"Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister. During his tenure, the grave of dreaded terrorist Yakub Memon, who carried out bombings in Mumbai in 1993, was turned into a mazaar. Is this his love for Mumbai, his devotion to the country?" Mr Kadam tweeted.
The BJP leader demanded that Mr Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of Mumbai. The Sena, NCP and the Congress were partners in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra that was toppled by a rebellion led by prominent Sena leader Ekhnath Shinde, who is now Chief Minister.
Yakub Memon was hanged to death in Nagpur Central Jail in 2015. He had been convicted of playing a crucial role in the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai that killed 257 people.
AdvertisementHis body had been handed over to his family and he was buried at a graveyard in Mumbai's Marine Lines area.
Shoaib Khatib, the chairperson of the graveyard committee, denied that any shrine had come up near Memon's grave.
Advertisement"Not only Yakub Memon, but the graves of several from his family are located here. Earth was slipping off, so we built an enclosure wall," he told the media amid the controversy.
Mr Khatib admitted that lights had been put up at the spot, but have been taken down following the row. "Yakub Memon is a traitor and there is no sympathy for him," he added.
