Yakub Memon won't live to see his 53rd birthday?

Yakub Memon

Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, whose behaviour has reportedly been erratic since Monday and became worse after he heard about the rejection of his curative petition yesterday, may not live to see his 53rd birthday. (Read Story: SC dismisses Yakub Memon's curative plea)

All hands on deck: Security has been beefed up outside the Nagpur Central Prison, where Yakub Memon (below) is likely to be hanged.

mid-day had reported on July 16 that the likely date for Yakub's hanging was July 30, which would, incidentally, have been the day the alleged 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind turned 53, but Intelligence Bureau officials told this newspaper yesterday that there is a high likelihood of him being hanged on July 29 - a day earlier than planned.

Also Read: 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon files mercy petition

This, according to the officials, may be done to foil terrorist organisations' plans, if any, to carry out attacks on the same day as Yakub's hanging.

Jail officials told mid-day that if Yakub is hanged in Nagpur Central Prison, which is most likely since he is housed there, the hanging will be overseen by the same Prison Superintendent, Yogesh Desai, who had handled Ajmal Qasab's hanging in 2012.

1993 serial blasts: Yakub Memon family members also faced trial

Yakub's lawyer, meanwhile, told mid-day that his client is planning to file another mercy petition before the President, on the grounds that the previous petition, which had been rejected last year, was filed by Yakub's brother, Suleman. The petition was sent to the Governor yesterday.

Oscillating
According to officials at the Nagpur Central Prison, where Yakub is being held, the high-profile prisoner's behaviour
has been erratic - oscillating between periods where he screams and creates a ruckus, and times when he maintains a studied silence and keeps to himself - since his cousin, Usman Memon, went to visit him on Monday. They said he claimed to be suffering from a mental disorder.

They said his behaviour worsened when the news of the Supreme Court dismissing his curative petition reached Yakub - who will be the first person to be hanged in the 1993 blasts case - yesterday.

Officials added, however, that Yakub was taken to a doctor, who said there was nothing wrong with him. They said Yakub may be behaving the way he is on purpose to gain sympathy and lend credence to his lawyer's argument that he has been suffering from schizophrenia since 1996, which was also part of his plea before the SC. "Yakub was fine till July 15, when reports of his likely hanging first emerged, but became silent after that. While he had been sharing his iftar food with other prisoners until then, on Eid, he kept to himself and wrote letters to his family. His brother Usman visited him on Monday and again today (Tuesday), with the latter's lawyer, Shubal Farooque," said a jail official.

"His behaviour has been erratic since Monday and he has been claiming he is suffering from a psychological disorder. We took him to prison doctors, who said he is fine. He may be doing all this to gain sympathy," he added.

Another petition
This becomes especially important in view of the fact that Yakub is now planning to file another mercy petition before President Pranab Mukherjee, who had rejected one such petition last year.

Speaking to mid-day, Yakub's Nagpur lawyer, Anil Gedam, said, "Yakub has written a letter to the President praying for mercy. Yakub's initial mercy petition, which was dismissed by the President in 2014, was filed by his brother Suleman and there are chances that this was the reason the petition was dismissed. I have collected Yakub's petition and it has reached the Governor of Maharashtra, who will forward it to the President."

Practice on
Officials at the Nagpur prison said practice to hang Yakub has been on since July 16, and the process will come closer to resembling the actual hanging a week before the death sentence is carried out.

"We had planned to keep Yakub, who is currently in the anda barrack, in an isolated cell, where an inspector and three constables would keep an eye on him around the clock. But, he refused to move till the SC decided on his petition. He will now be shifted to an isolated cell and will be given white clothes.

1993 Mumbai blasts: Yakub Memon could be hanged on July 30

The pyjama he will wear will have a button instead of a drawstring so that he doesn't injure himself," said a jail official. "Daily practice has begun from July 16. On Friday, the rope with a diameter of 6 cm, which will be used to hang Yakub, was prepared with coir, nylon and cotton. It will be dipped in ghee so that it slides onto his neck smoothly. All the processes are being followed as per the provisions laid down in the Maharashtra Prison Manual, 1978," he added. "We will be taking his height and weight, and a dummy will be made according to those specifications using cotton, rubber and nylon. The constables will practise with the dummy for two hours every day," said the official.

Qasab connection
"Three constables have already been trained for the hanging under Prison Superintendent Yogesh Desai, who was earlier in-charge during the Ajmal Qasab hanging in the Yerawada Central Prison in Pune. One of the constables who served as a hangman for Qasab's hanging, who is now deployed in Kolhapur, has also been called to Nagpur, and he is expected to be here in two days," said another official.

1984 The year the last hanging had taken place in the Nagpur Central Prison