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Afzal Guru hanged inside Tihar jail

New Delhi: Afzal Guru, convicted in the audacious attack on Parliament in 2001, was today hanged in Tihar Jail, in an operation shrouded in secrecy.

"Afzal Guru was hanged at 8 AM," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said shortly after the execution of the Jaish-e-Mohammad militant.

The mercy plea of 43-year-old Guru, who was sentenced to death in 2002 by a special court and later upheld by the Supreme Court in 2004, was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee a few days back, Rashtrapati Bhavan spokespeman Venu Rajamony said.

Reminiscent of the hanging of Mumbai attack convict Ajmal Kasab on November 21 last year, Guru's execution was kept under wraps in a top secret operation.

The family of Guru residing in Sopore in north Kashmir was informed about the decision of the Government that his mercy petition has been rejected.

The body of Guru, who has been in the death row for over 10 years, is likely to be buried in Tihar Jail itself as it was done in the case of Kasab who was buried in Pune's Yerwada jail soon after his execution.

Curfew was imposed in the Kashmir Valley in the wee hours today. 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.

Pro-Pakistan separatist groups have given a call for a three-day shut down in the Valley.

Guru was convicted on charges conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on Parliament and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2004.

On December 13, 2001, five heavily-armed gunmen stormed the Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate fire, killing nine persons.

They included five Delhi Police personnel, a woman Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) official, two Parliament watch and ward staff and a gardener.

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

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

BJP welcomes Afzal Guru's execution

New Delhi: BJP today welcomed the execution of Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru, saying it was a "much awaited and much wanted decision".
"This action is delayed. But undoubtedly it is a welcome action. ...it was a much awaited decision, much wanted decision so that the world could see that India is committed against terror, the fight against terror," BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters here.

He said the BJP has always been pressing for strong and prompt action against perpetrators of terror.

"Any action against terror like the hanging of Afzal Guru should be immediate. It cannot be delayed. If the highest court of the land upheld the conviction of Afzal Guru in 2007, thereafter there was no reason that any mercy petition should have been delayed for so long," he said.

"Though delayed, we still feel that the hanging of Afzal Guru was a right action. It has been done and the people of this country have been wanting and waiting for it for a long time," he said.

Afzal's family communicated through Speed Post: Home Secy

New Delhi: The family of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru has been informed about his hanging by the Tihar authorities through Speed Post and the J&K government was taken into confidence before his execution, the Centre said today.

"They (Tihar jail authorities) intimated the family through Speed Post, registered post and the DG (Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police) has been told to check with the family whether they got it or not," Union Home Secretary R K Singh told reporters here.

Singh said the J&K government has been taken into confidence before Guru's hanging early today.

In the wake of Afzal Guru's hanging, the Jammu and Kashmir government is taking all necessary preventive measures to maintain peace there but the government is not apprehending any trouble in rest of the country.

"We are not having any apprehension anywhere in the country. In Jammu and Kashmir, the state government is taking steps. We are in touch with them," the Home Secretary said.

Without giving details, Singh said security has been intensified in some areas. PTI