New Delhi: 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged this morning, walked to the gallows in a peaceful and composed frame of mind.
"He was very peaceful and calm during the final moments. He looked very composed," a top Tihar Jail official told PTI.
The official said Afzal Guru's family was informed about the execution.
Home Secretary RK Singh on Saturday announced that 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru will be buried inside Tihar Jail itself.
Speaking to a news channel, the Home Secretary said: "The decision on Afzal Guru's body will be taken as per the jail manual. Afzal Guru will be buried with full religious rites inside the jail. We are not apprehending any law and order problem in Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister was kept in the loop”.
Singh confirmed the hanging of Afzal Guru, the main accused in the December 13, 2001, terror strike on the Indian Parliament.
Addressing media in the national capital, Singh said that Guru was hanged at 8 am on Saturday morning in Delhi's Tihar Jail.
“He was hanged at 8 o’ clock this morning. The President rejected his petition on February 3,” said the Union Home Secretary, adding: “The law and justice is taking its course.”
“We did an investigation. As soon as the President rejected, further steps according to the jail manual were taken up. I repeat myself; it was law taking its course. It’s a rule of the law. We don’t announce our steps word by word. The J&K Police have taken some security measures,” Singh said.
“Our motive is not to give a lesson to anyone. The situation around the country is absolutely fine. In J&K, we will take action,” Singh said.
In the wake of his hanging, curfew has been imposed in several areas of Jammu and Kashmir in anticipation of protests. The Army is on high-alert in the state.
Guru was given the death sentence by the Supreme Court in 2004. His hanging was earlier scheduled for October 2006, but was suspended or stayed after his wife had filed a mercy petition on his behalf.
In December 2001, five heavily-armed terrorists drove into the Parliament complex and opened fire. Nine people were killed, most of them security personnel. All five terrorists were killed.
At that time, proceedings in Parliament was adjourned even as several lawmakers were inside.
Guru hailed from Sopore in Kashmir.
Afzal Guru spent nearly eight years on death row in the Tihar Jail. He was convicted in the attack on Parliament in 2001.
The mercy plea of 43-year-old Afzal 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 spokesperson Venu Rajamony said.
