Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru was hanged to death at the Tihar jail in New Delhi, in the early hours of February 9th, 2013. Here's a recap on the life of a man who spent 10 years on death row until he was finally hanged.
Source : IBNLive
43 year old Mohammad Afzal Guru, a resident of Sopore in north Kashmir, was a former fruit vendor, who harboured an unfulfilled aspiration to become a doctor. He was married and had a son. The convict was apprehended and found guilty of conspiracy and providing shelter to militants who attacked the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001.
Source : PTI
Parliament attack 2001
On December 13, 2001, five terrorists stormed into Parliament when it was in session, and opened fire at the venue. Nine people were killed and over 15 injured. A journalist who was shot during the attack later succumbed to his injuries. The five terrorists were shot in the crossfire along with eight security personnel and a gardener.
Twelve people were named as being part of the conspiracy. Besides the 5 killed, four Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives were never caught. The four arrested were three Kashmiri men, S.A.R. Geelani, Shaukat Hussain Guru, Mohammed Afzal and Shaukat's wife Afsan Guru. While Geelani and Afsan were later set free, Hussain received a 10 year jail term, while Afzal was sentenced to death for conspiracy and crime against the state.
Source : PTI
Death row convict
Afzal Guru was sentenced to death in September 2006. Although the verdict for execution was through, his wife Tabasum Guru filed a mercy petition with then President APJ Abdul Kalam. The plea was rejected and though scheduled for October 20, 2006, he was executed on February 9, 2013. He remained lodged in Tihar in Delhi for 10 years as a death row convict.
Source : AFP
Buried in Tihar
Afzal Guru was buried within the Tihar jail premises, like the case of Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab. He was the second Kashmiri militant put to death after Maqbool Bhath, cofounder of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. He was executed on February 11, 1984 in Tihar Jail in New Delhi for killing an Indian intelligence officer. The hanging received positive responses from political and legal voices in the country.
