21 September,2020 01:05 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Yakub Memon. File pic
The Mumbai Police on Saturday arrested former trustee of Juma Masjid of Bombay Trust for allegedly selling the grave of 1993 blast convict Yakub Memon, located at the Bada kabrastan in South Mumbai. After being hanged to death for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, Memon was buried in July 2015.
According to police officials, the accused, identified as Parvez Ismail Sarkare (54), was arrested on Saturday and was produced in court on Sunday, reports Hindustan Times.
Sarkare was a trustee when certain Othhas (graves) at the kabrastan were sold in an unruly manner last year, a police official said. The kabrastan is registered under the said trust.
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Cops said that the graves at the kabrastan are properties of the Waqf Board and it cannot be sold to anyone. However, the graves can be allotted to a family for maintenance, but after following a due process, an officer said. Interestingly, the Memon family has seven Othhas at the Bada kabrastan in Marine Drive.
The incident came to light when Yakub Menon's cousin Mohammed Abdul Rauf Memon visited the kabrastan to inquire about the annual maintenance fees for the Othhas. During the visit, he discovered that their four Othhas were sold to someone else by using forged documents and signatures.
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"Sarkare did not follow due process and sold Othhas meant for the burial of members from Memon families to one Merchant family (distant relatives of Memons only). It is found that Sarkare unlawfully sold the four Othhas for Rs 5 lakh by using forged signatures," a police officer said.
Although Yakub's cousin had lodged a complaint in March, the police did not take any action due to COVID-19 enforced lockdown. However, the accused has been arrested and booked under Sections 465 and 468 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The police are looking for another accused who has been named in the FIR and is likely to be arrested in the case, another police officer said.
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