Bollywood megastar Salman Khan on Sunday said in defence of Yakub Memon, about his part in the 1993 Mumbai explosions case, but made a U-turn and made an apology after his remarks triggered strong responses from political parties and social media workers.
“I have not said or implied that Yakub Memon is innocent. I have complete faith in the judicial system of our country,” the actor tweeted, after he posted about a few tweets early on Sunday and said Tiger Memon, was thought to be in Pakistan, should be hanged instead of Yakub Memon for the bombings.
Faced with disapproval and criticism following his tweets things have gone to the extent that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been asked to confirm whether Tiger Memon is in his country, Salman said: “My dad called & said I should retract my tweets as they have the potential to create misunderstanding. I hereby retract them. I would like to unconditionally apologize for any misunderstanding I may have created unintentionally.”
Salman said he has stood by his comment that “Tiger Memon should hang for his crimes”. He added: “What I also said is that Yakub Memon should not hang for him.Many lives were lost in the Mumbai blasts. And I have repeatedly said the loss of one innocent life is equal to the loss of all humanity.”
After Salman’s opinion on Yakub Memon triggered a row, his father pursued to play down the matter. Salim Khan told a TV news channels: “Whatever Salman has written is ridiculous and meaningless. Salman is ignorant of the issue and people should not take him seriously.”
Salman’s defense for Yakub Memon came amid a powerful debate on whether the 1993 blasts offender should be hanged since he reverted to India from Pakistan with the described aim of clearing his name. The then home minister, SB Chavan, had said Yakub Memon’s custody had helped “clearly establish beyond doubt that Pakistan was fully involved” in the 1993 violence.
In his early morning tweets, Salman criticized Tiger Memon, who has been escaping since the blasts that slaughtered 257 people and wounded 1,400 more.
The underworld since a long time had links with Mumbai’s film industry, with rumors signifying that mob bosses used film production to legalize their money. It is rare for Bollywood stars to openly speak out in contrast to mob bosses such as Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim, who too is supposed to be in Pakistan
