1993 Mumbai bombings: Salman Khan requests PM Nawaz to confirm whereabouts of alleged mastermind

Following uproar, Bollywood actor deletes tweets and clarifies his stance

Bollywood actor Salman Khan on Sunday asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to confirm if Tiger Memon, one of the masterminds a series of bombings in Mumbai in 1993, is in Pakistan.



The actor later retracted the comments after uproar from the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the opposition and a prosecutor involved in the case. However, hours after his tweets, Salman Khan deleted them saying, "My dad called and said I should retract my tweets as they have the potential to create misunderstanding. I hereby retract them."

There were also reports of the ruling-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s supporters protesting outside his house. The protesters reportedly  demanded the actor to apologise for his tweets.

My dad called & said I should retract my tweets as they have the potential to create misunderstanding. I here by retract them.

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015

In a series of tweets, the Bollywood actor had spoken openly against Tiger Memon and urged the government to hang him instead of his brother, Yakub Memon, the only person to be condemned to death for the Mumbai bombings.

Read: India's top court rejects appeal of 1993 Bombay blasts convict

“Get tiger hang him. Parade him not his brother,” he wrote.





 

 

Salman said he had been wanting to tweet on the issue for three days but had been “afraid to do so” because it involved a man and his family.



 

However, later Salman clarified, "I had tweeted that Tiger Memon should be hanged for his crimes and I stand by it. What I also said is that Yakub Memon should not be hanged for him."

I had tweeted that Tiger Memon should hang for his crimes and I stand by it. What i also said is that Yakub Memon should not hang for him.

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015

I have not said or implied that Yakub Memon is innocent. I have complete faith in the judicial system of our country.

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015

Further, he said, "I would like to unconditionally apologise for any misunderstanding I may have created unintentionally."

I would like to unconditionally apologise for any misunderstanding I may have created unintentionally.

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015

"I also strongly condemn those who are claiming my tweets are anti religious. I have always said I respect all faiths and I always will," he added.

I also strongly condemn those who are claiming my tweets are anti religious. I have always said I respect all faiths and I always will.

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) July 26, 2015

Yakub Memon is due to be hanged on July 30. The blasts in March 1993 ripped through Mumbai, then known as Bombay, killing at least 257 people at separate landmarks, including the Bombay Stock Exchange, a popular cinema and two crowded markets.

Soon after his tweets, Salman Khan's father lashed out at him and said his tweets should not be taken 'seriously.'

"Whatever Salman has written is ridiculous and meaningless. Salman is ignorant of the issue and people should not take him seriously," Salim Khan said, according to IBN Live.

Salim also spoke out against capital punishment for Yakub Memon, saying, “Yakub should be kept in jail rather be hanged. Keeping him alive is a bigger punishment."

Indian Police consider Memon’s brother “Tiger” Memon and Dawood Ibrahim to be the main masterminds behind the attack, carried out to avenge the destruction of an ancient mosque by Hindu zealots in 1992.

Read: Mumbai attacks suspect: India asked to wait for trial to end

Others originally charged in relation to the attack had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment in 2013. But Memon was found by the court to be the “driving spirit” behind the attacks, and his 2007 death sentence was upheld.

While Tiger Memon has been in hiding since 1993, Yakub Memon decided to return to India in 1994, protesting his innocence. He was detained shortly afterwards in circumstances that remain unclear: he has said he turned himself in, but police claimed an arrest.