Yakub relieved, could speak to daughter over phone before death

His last wish of meeting his daughter Zubeida may have not been fulfilled, but Yakub Memon was indeed relieved that the Nagpur prison authorities facilitated a telephone conversation with her on Wednesday night, hours before he was executed.Informed sources at the Nagpur prison said that as soon as Yakub had on Wednesday night expressed his desire to meet his daughter. Not being able to fulfill last wish, the authorities had promptly obliged his other request — of talking to his daughter over telephone.  

Yakub appeared pleased that he could speak to his daughter Zubeida, two days before her 22nd birthday.  Yakub, prison sources said, had also some relief, as he had an emotional meeting with elder brother Suleiman Memon who had visited at the prison along with his cousin Usman on Wednesday night, hours before he was hanged to death at 7 am on Thursday.

last week, Yakub’s wife Rahin (42) and daughter Zubeda (21) had visited him in the Nagpur prison. During their meeting, Yakub had reportedly asked Zubeida to pursue MBA from a reputed institution.Himself good at studies, Yakub was an MCom and a chartered accountant. While in prison he had completed MA in English literature and political science. 

After her meeting with her father last week Zubeda had told some television channels: “I was few days old when I came to India. My dad is the most important part of my life. My sincere request to the authorities is to commute the sentence to life term.”On Wednesday night, Yakub had told the prison authorities that he wanted to meet his daughter — that was after he had met his elder brother Suleiman.

Zubeda had been born two days after Yakub’s formal arrest in the 1993 serial blasts case, followed by the arrests of his other family members including his father Abdul Razzak Memon, mother Hanifa Memon, elder brother Suleimen Memon, his wife Rubina Memon and bachelor brothers Yusuf Memon and Anjum alias Essa Memon.