India executes man who financed deadly 1993 Mumbai bombings

India has executed Yakub Memon, the man convicted of financing the deadly 1993 Mumbai bombings, the Maharashtra state government has confirmed.

Memon was hanged at a prison in Nagpur in the western state. He was hanged hours after the supreme court dismissed a final plea to stay the sentence.

There was tight security around the Nagpur prison on Thursday morning, and in parts of the state capital, Mumbai.

The serial blasts killed 257 people, and were allegedly to avenge the killing of Muslims in riots a few months earlier.

India rarely carries out death sentences - only three people have been executed since 2004.

The March 1993 blasts targeted a dozen sites, including the Bombay Stock Exchange, the offices of national carrier Air India and a luxury hotel.

His lawyers had argued that executions can only be carried out after seven days have passed following the rejection of a mercy petition.

But in a pre-dawn hearing, the court ruled that because his first mercy petition had been rejected last year, the execution met the required rules, said media reports.