Afzal Guru hanged for Parliament attack, buried in Tihar Jail

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Agencies: New Delhi, Feb 09 2013, 08:37 IST

Afzal Guru, Jaish-e-Mohammad militant convicted in the audacious attack on Parliament in 2001, was hanged on Saturday in Delhi's Tihar Jail in an operation shrouded in secrecy, five days after his mercy plea was rejected by the President.

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A resident of Sopore in north Kashmir, 43-year-old Guru, sentenced to death in 2002 by a special court and the verdict upheld by the Supreme Court in 2005, was executed at 8 am in Tihar Jail here and his body was buried in the prison premises.

Guru, a former fruit merchant, was found guilty of conspiring and sheltering the militants who attacked Parliament on December 13, 2001, in which nine persons were killed.

Fearing a backlash over the execution, an indefinite curfew was clamped in the Valley and security beefed up. Jammu and Kashmir Minister Omar Abdullah, DGP Ashok Prasad and other senior officers flew from Jammu to Srinagar early this morning to keep a close watch on the law and order situation.

On December 13, 2001, five heavily-armed gunmen stormed the Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate fire, killing five Delhi Police personnel, a woman CRPF official, two Parliament watch and ward staff and a gardener.

A journalist, who was injured, died later. All five terrorists were shot dead by security forces.

Guru was arrested within hours after the attack from a bus in the national capital.

"Afzal Guru was hanged at 8 am," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters shortly after the execution.

Guru was taken to the gallows at around 7.30 am and appeared

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Reader's Comments (12)| Post a Comment

An indictment on the Indian Judiciary

Anjum | 11-Feb-2013Reply | Forward

Ref: Outlook Magazine Oct 30, 2006, 'And His Life Should Become Extinct' - The Very Strange Story of the Attack on the Indian Parliament -- By ARUNDHATI ROY The fact remains that the court finding was not a consequence of a judicial determination but based on the perceived desire of the society (read political expedience) as per the excerpt formt he judgement: "...but collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender." This alone is an indictment on the Indian judiciary! Ms Roy goes onto say: "To invoke the 'collective conscience of society' to validate ritual murder, which is what the death penalty is, skates precariously close to valorising lynch law.It's chilling to think that this has been laid upon us not by predatory politicians or sensation-seeking journalists (though they too have done that), but as an edict from the highest court in the land." Let us think: What is the true aim of instituting penalties?

Hanging of Afzal Guru

R.Sethuraman | 09-Feb-2013Reply | Forward

It is the right step in the right direction. Due legal and administrative processes were complied with. A menace to the Nation has been hanged. By doing so , the Government has declared to the world its zero tolerance towards terror activities. We have lost high number of lives and assets due to terror. If we consider the huge sum we are spending on security , hanging of Afzal Guru is in order. Guys who preach against hanging are nowhere near ensuring Terrorists from indulging in terror activities again. We are surrounded by counties not exactly friendly with us. Even an elephant can be bled to death. Let there be no misplaced sympathy.

Hanging of Afzal Guru

Patriot | 09-Feb-2013Reply | Forward

For every India this is a great day since the Indian Law has shown to the world that the law of thsi land prevails. Attacking out parliament is attacking India and its 1 billion people. This can never be tolerated. And the Indian law has shown that it can take decisions and act.