Yusuf Memon dies of heart attack at Nashik jail

According to the jail officials, Yusuf was lodged in the high-security Anda cell with his younger brother Essa in a neighbouring cell.

“He was talking to fellow inmates when he collapsed suddenly. His brother and other inmates were around. As soon as he fell down, we called the in-house doctors, who tried to treat him. But as his condition did not improve, he was rushed to the Nashik civil hospital where he died,” said Pramod Wagh, jail superintendent.

The body has been sent to Dhule medical college for postmortem, following which, it will be handed over to the family. “Doctors are expected to conduct the postmortem early Saturday. The family is on their way to Dhule,” said Wagh.

Yusuf was arrested soon after the 1993 blasts and had been lodged in different jails across the state since then. He was at Arthur Road jail in Mumbai till 2007 and was then shifted to Aurangabad jail.

From there, he was transferred to Nashik Road jail in 2018.

Jailer Ashok Karkar said, “He suffered from a mental illness (schizophrenia), for which he was being treated by doctors in the jail.”

Yusuf was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special TADA court in 2007 for his role in the 1993 blasts that killed over 250 people and injured hundreds in Mumbai. He was arrested for letting the conspirators use his house and garage in the city. He was held guilty for conspiracy and abetting acts of terror along with three others — his brothers Essa and Yakub and sister-in-law Rubina. Yakub, who was sentenced to death, was executed on July 30, 2015.

Yusuf’s brothers, Tiger Memon and Ayub Memon, who were also an accused in the case, are still absconding.