Yakub Memon grave 'beautification' irks BJP; Mumbai police order probe

Yakub was kept at the Arthur Road jail initially and, after the sentencing in 2007, was shifted to the Nagpur Central Jail. File pic

A controversy has erupted over the burial place of 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon in Mumbai, with the ruling BJP claiming the grave was "beautified" and attempts made to turn it into a shrine of sorts.

Mumbai police swung into action on Thursday, removing the LED lights put around the grave of the terror convict, who was hanged at Nagpur jail in 2015 and buried at the Bada Qabrastan in south Mumbai.

A DCP level police officer will probe how the LED lights and marble tiles came to "adorn" the terror convict's grave, an official said.

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While some Maharashtra BJP leaders claimed the grave was converted into a tomb while Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister, the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena said the whole issue was an attempt to divert people's attention from more important issues like inflation and unemployment.

State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said Thackeray should apologise to the people of Mumbai and Maharashtra for this "beautification" attempt of the grave of a person responsible for killing 250 people.

Another local BJP leader said NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should also apologise over the issue.

A police official said halogen lights were installed in the Bada Qabrastan on the occasion of Badi Raat (Shab-e-Barat) and have been removed by the Qabrastan trustees.

Shab-e-Barat is a major celebration for the Muslim community is also known as the night of fortune and forgiveness.

The marble tiles around Memon's grave were put up three years ago, he said. There are 13 other graves at the place, he added.

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