Death penalty wrong in principle and practice: Tharoor

Steers clear of making statement in Yakub Memom case, but says studies confirm capital punishment is no deterrent

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said that although he did not want to comment on the execution of 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon; he believes that death penalty is wrong in principle and practice.

"I am not commenting on the merits of any case because that is for the Supreme Court to decide. My position is that death penalty is wrong in principle and practice. Lots of studies have been conducted which confirm that death penalty has no deterrent effect, statistics also suggest that," said Tharoor.

 

Memon's body was handed over to his family members after the 1993 Mumbai terror attacks convict was hanged in the Nagpur Central Jail earlier today.

His body will now be taken to Mumbai for the last rites.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened outside the terror attack convict's Mumbai residence following his execution.

 

Memon was hanged at the Nagpur Central jail today morning after his second mercy plea before President Pranab Mukherjee was rejected late last night.

In an unprecedented move, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court presided over a fresh hearing of the case throughout the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday before dismissing the final appeal for mercy by Yakub, the only person to be sentenced to death for the series of bombings in Mumbai.

Memon was convicted for being the "driving spirit" behind the blasts that killed at least 257 people at separate landmarks in the financial capital, including the Bombay Stock Exchange and two crowded markets.