Crowd at Yakub's funeral likely due to gangsters' prodding: Maha CM

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that it was probably calls by some gangsters which led to the large crowd at the funeral of 1993 blasts case convict Yakub Memon in Mumbai following his hanging at the Central Prison here.

The chief minister, however, dismissed media reports about Tiger Memon, a key absconding accused in the blasts case and Yakub's elder brother, calling his mother Hanifa in Mumbai. He said that there were no mourners at the Mumbai airport when Yakub's body reached.

"There were no mourners at the Mumbai airport when Yakub's body reached (on July 30 noon) but, later, probably the (absconding) gangsters instigated people to attend the funeral," Fadnavis told reporters here last night.

Mumbai police were on their toes for Memon's burial in south Mumbai, which was attended by a large crowd. The funeral had passed off peacefully.

About the reports that Tiger (said to be hiding in Pakistan) calling his mother and swearing revenge for his brother's hanging, Fadnavis said, "There is no truth (in them)."

The BJP-led Maharashtra government is well-prepared to deal with security concerns during the coming festival season, the chief minister said, adding that the vigil has already been tightened after Memon's hanging.