Nagpur/Mumbai.
A report published on the national news website has come up with a startling revelaton about the prime accused in 1993 Mumbai blast Tiger Memon, elder brother of recently hanged Yakub Memon, talking to his mother on phone and vowing to take revenge on his brother’s death. Tiger had reportedly called up his Mumbai residence and talked to his mother just one and half hours before before Yakub was to be hanged.
A Mumbai Police wing monitoring the number recorded the conversation between the fugitive and his mother in the early hours of July 30. ET has accessed a copy of the transcript of the purported conversation whose content has caused concern among police and security agencies.
According to the transcript, instead of grieving for his brother who was about to die, Tiger was talking about revenge in the conversation with his mother and another family member.
Mumbai Police officials listening in on the conversation have identified Tiger’s voice and are concerned about the prospect of retaliatory terror attacks as Tiger is heard promising his family that he would avenge Yakub’s death. The fact that a call from Tiger was intercepted was confirmed by officials from security agencies in Mumbai and Delhi.
However, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) KP Bakshi told the concerned news portal he was not aware of the phone conversation between Tiger and his family. “Neither the Maharashtra DGP (director general of police) nor the central agencies have given us any such report,” he said.
THE CALL
On July 30, as Yakub was being prepared to be sent to the gallows, the phone in the Memon household at the Al Husseini building in Mahim rang at about 5.35 am. The Supreme Court had just 40 minutes earlier upheld the decision to hang Yakub.
An unidentified man from the Memon household answered the phone. People at both the ends seemed to be sure about each other’s identity, possibly indicating a regular channel of communication between Tiger and his family. There were no introductions. Soon after the greeting of “salam walaikum”, Tiger asks the unidentified man to hand the phone over to his mother, Hanifa.
The mother initially seems reluctant, as per the transcript, but the man at the Memon household insists that she should speak to “bhaijan”. Tiger repeatedly tells his mother that Yakub’s death will be avenged. “Main unko chukwaonga (I will make them pay).”
A distraught Hanifa is heard sobbing on the phone and asks Tiger to stop the violence. She says, “Bas ho gaya. Pehle ke vajah se mera Yakub gaya ab aur nahi main dekh sakti. (Stop this, due to the first incident, I have lost Yakub. Now I can’t bear to see any more people dying).” Hanifa Memon’s appeal, however, falls on deaf ears as Tiger repeats his revenge message. When Hanifa hands the phone over to the unidentified family member, Tiger promises him that the “tears of the family will not go waste”. Mumbai Police officials point out that the call was made using voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) facilities but they could not identify the Internet protocol (IP) address as the source of the call kept “bouncing” from one IP address to another.
The call lasted barely three minutes. Police sources said Tiger must have ended the call early to avoid detection of his location.
THE TRANSCRIPT
Here is the complete transcript of the conversation between Tiger Memon and his mother:
The call from Tiger Memon came at around 5.35 am on the Memon residence landline number.
An unidentified man (UM) from the Memon residence picks up the phone. The caller doesn’t identify himself but quickly says, ” Salam walikum, Hello”
The unidentified male (UM) then replies: Walikum salam Bhai.
Tiger: Ammi Jaggi hai kya. (Is mother awake)
UM: Woh raat bhar soyi nahi hai. (She hasn’t slept since last night)
Tiger: Baat karao ( I want to speak to her)
There is a pause of around 30 seconds as the cordless phone is being taken inside to the room where the mother is. While going to the room UM meets someone else who asks who is on the line, UM carrying the phone says, ‘Bhaijaan ka phone hai,’.
The Unidentified Male enters a room and tells his mother: “Bhaijaan baat karenge,” He repeats it again: “Bhaijaan baat karenge.”
There is some murmuring which is not audible. Hanifa apparently doesn’t want to talk to Tiger. So the UM insists, “Tum baat to karo.”
Hanifa Memon, the mother of Tiger Memon then takes the phone, there are a few moments of silence. In a feeble voice she says something to Tiger that is inaudible.
Tiger: “Salam walikum Ammi khairiyat.”
In a feeble voice she says something the voice is inaudible.
Tiger says: “Salam walikum ammi khairiyat?”
Hearing this- the mother Hanifa starts crying. There is a pause for 35 seconds as she sobs.
Tiger then says: “Zulm ki inteha ho gayi hai. Zaya nahi jayega,” (This is the height of injustice, this will not go waste.) And repeats it one more time: “Yeh sab zaya nahi jayega,”
Yakub’s mother starts sobbing more on the phone now.
So Tiger promises: “Tum ro mat ammi iska inko izafa dena hoga.”
Hanfia says something which is inaudible-
Tiger: “main unko chukwaonga” (I will make them pay)
Tiger’s mother says in a feeble voice: “Bas ho gaya, Pehle ke vajah se mera Yakub gaya ab aur nahin main dekh sakti.
main nahi dekh sakti
main nahi dekh sakti”
And begins to cry again.
The UM who answered the phone initially then takes the phone again from the mother and says: “Bhai…”
Tiger says: “usko sambhalo, sabko sambhalo”
UM replies: “Woh abhi baat nahi karengi woh ro rahi hai. sab ro rahe hain.”
Tiger: “Sabke asoo zaya nahi jayenge” (Everyone’s tears will not go waste)
“Sabka khayal rakho” (Take care of everyone)
UM: “Dua pado bhai” (Recite some prayers)
The phone gets cut then. The call made from a VOIP connection was bouncing from one Internet Protocol address to another, so the trace was not completed.
