Pakistani national Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving terrorist of the
Mumbai terror attack of November 26, 2008, was hanged in a Pune jail at
7.30 am on Wednesday, after his mercy plea was rejected by President
Pranab Mukherjee earlier this month.
Kasab had been buried inside
the premises of Pune's Yerawada Central Jail shortly after the
execution, Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan told
journalists.
Chavan said Kasab had been shifted from Mumbai's Arthur Road jail to Pune two days ago.
Kasab did not leave behind any will, the chief minister said.
The chilling images of Kasab's killing spree, captured by
close-circuit TVs installed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai
were rekindled, as Maharashtra home minister RR Patil announced the
execution, carried out in complete secrecy.
"All the legal procedures in the 26/11 terror attacks case were
completed," Patil told reporters in Mumbai, adding: "Accordingly, Kasab
has been hanged this morning at 7.30 am in Yerawada Central Jail."
'Kasab was quiet before execution'
Minutes before his execution, Kasab appeared to be nervous but was quiet and offered prayers, a jail official said.
"From his body language, we could make out that he was very nervous.
However, he remained quiet before he was taken out from his cell for the
hanging," the official said.
Kasab had also offered prayers and asked if his family was informed
in advance about the hanging to which jail authorities replied in the
affirmative, the official said.
Kasab's end came five days before the fourth anniversary of the
brutal terror attacks that claimed 166 lives and injured 300 people.
Nine of his associates, who had sneaked into Mumbai for the three-day
carnage, had been secretly buried in the city in January 2010.
The hanging also comes a day before the winter session of Parliament and weeks ahead of Gujarat assembly election in December.
'Tell
my Ammi', this was the message conveyed by Kasab, who was hanged on
Wednesday, when he was told about his November 21 execution, official
sources said.
Nooree Lai, mother of Kasab, was apparently the closest person to him
as he only uttered her name when asked about his last wish, the sources
said.
After completion of the formalities, home secretary RK Singh wrote to
foreign secretary Rajan Mathai to inform Kasab's mother and other
family members who are in Pakistan.
Accordingly, the authorities, through the Indian High Commission in
Islamabad, had sent a letter to his mother through courier on Tuesday,
fulfilling his last desire, the sources said.
Union home minister said a letter was sent to the Pakistani High
Commission in New Delhi, informing them of the decision to hang Kasab.
When the letter was not accepted, a the same was faxed to Pakistan's
foreign ministry. But there was no response.
Kasab -- who was barely 21 when he carried out the brutal attack --
was sentenced to death on four counts and to life sentence on five
counts on charges including murder, waging a war on India and possessing
weapons.
He was first sentenced to death by a special trial court on May 6, 2010.
The Bombay high court upheld the verdict Feb 21 last year, followed
by a similar decision by the Supreme Court on Aug 29. Finally, President
Mukherjee rejected his mercy plea Nov 5.
"It took the Maharashtra government less than two weeks to hang
Kasab, after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his mercy petition Nov
5. I forwarded it to the Maharashtra government on Nov 8," Union home
minister Sushilkumar Shinde said in New Delhi.
"Pakistan has been informed but there is no demand for Kasab's body,"
he said, adding, the the entire operation had to be conducted under
secrecy due to the sensitivities involved and all the due procedures
were followed.
Soon after, reactions started pouring in.
The hanging of Kasab was a case of "better late than never", the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Wednesday after the 26/11 Pakistani
terrorist was executed in Pune's Yerawada jail.
"It took us four years to finally hang him. Better late than never,"
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told mediapersons in New Delhi.
Asking the government to "expedite the whole process of mercy
petitions", Prasad also demanded action against Afzal Guru, who
masterminded the attack on parliament in December 2001.
"All the handlers, conspirators of the Mumbai attack still remain at large in Pakistan," Prasad said further.
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi termed the hanging as "a stern warning
to the enemies of India especially those across the border who want to
terrorise India".
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who appeared for state in the
case, said with Kasab's hanging homage has now been paid to those lost
their lives in the terror attacks.
"By Kasab's conviction and death penalty, we have proved how the
entire conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan. We have set an example that
India will not tolerate such attacks and the accused will be brought to
justice," Nikam said.
Kasab's hangmen was also kept in dark
The operation to execute Kasab was on Wednesday shrouded in secrecy
with even the hangman kept in the dark about the terrorist's identity
till the last minute.
Kasab, who has been lodged at Arthur Road prison in Pune ever since
his arrest soon after the Mumbai terror attack, was whisked out of his
heavily-guarded cell in the intervening night of November 18 and 19, a
senior police official said.
"Kasab was escorted by senior officials of crime branch, commandos of
Quick Response Team (QRT) and ITBP officials, who have been guarding
the terrorist since his arrest in November 2008. The team, along with
Kasab reached Pune's Yerwada jail in the wee hours of November 19," the
official said.
According to the officer, except the jail superintendent, deputy
jailor and doctor, no jail authority was informed about the identity of
the accused.
"The jail authorities were only told that a high-profile accused is
being brought to Yerwada. His identity was not revealed. Kasab was
lodged in an isolated egg-shaped cell guarded by ITBP personnel," the
official said.
Even the hangman was not informed about the identity of the accused
till the last minute. "We had told the hangman that he is to execute the
death penalty of a terrorist. The identity was revealed to him only few
minutes before the execution," the official said.
Kasab was confined to a special-made bullet and bomb-proof cell at
Arthur Road Central prison ever since his arrest in November 2008.
However, he was executed in Yerwada prison as facilities to hang exist
in that prison only, he said.
Before the execution, as per the norms, Kasab was asked if he had any
final wishes, to which the terrorist replied in the negative.
Soon after he was hanged, the doctor, who was present in the room,
confirmed Kasab's death and informed the government authorities.
According to authorities, Kasab's body has been buried inside Yerwada jail itself.
'We have got justice'
"The first thing that comes to my mind is what happened is good. We
are happy that we have got justice," wife of a railway ticket collector,
who was killed in the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, said today reacting to
Pakistan terrorist Ajmal Kasab's hanging.
Ragini Sharma, whose husband S K Sharma was killed in the 2008 terror
strike, said she would like to thank the President for rejecting
Kasab's mercy plea.
"I would like to thank the President. However, it got delayed but we
did get justice. I am happy that it (the hanging) was done secretly,
otherwide some human rights people would have opposed it," she said.
Vishnu Zende, an announcer at the Chhtrapati Shivaji Terminus, the
railway station here which was one of the targets of the attack, said,
"I had never thought that I would get to hear this news like this.
"I am very happy that he has been hanged. All the people who died in
the terror attack have been given tribute by hanging him," Zende, who
had helped save many lives by making announcements over the public
address system in the station about the strike, said.
Advocate Ujwal Nikam who was the public prosecutor in this case
expressed happiness over the move." We have exposed the modus operandi
of terror groups operating from Pakistan and sent a message that
terrorism will not be tolerated, " Nikam said.
"Yes, Kasab has been hanged this (Wednesday) morning at 7.30 a.m. in
Yerawada Central Jail," special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who led
the 26/11 terror attacks case, said.
Kasab buried inside Pune jail
Kasab was buried inside the premises of Pune's Yerawada Central jail
shortly after he was hanged, Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj
Chavan said on Wednesday.
Chavan said Kasab had been shifted from Mumbai to Pune two days ago.
Kasab did not leave behind any will, the chief minister told
journalists, adding that he had been buried in the jail premises on the
outskirts of Pune.
Ajmal Kasab and nine fellow Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists had sailed
into Mumbai on November 26, 2008 from Karachi and gone on a shooting
spree that killed 166 people. Kasab was the only one captured alive by
security forces.
Kasab was sentenced to death in May 2010 after he was found guilty of
a string of charges, including waging war against India, murder and
terrorist acts.
He appealed in the Supreme Court claiming he did not receive a fair trial but his petition was struck down in August.
During the 2008 attacks, the heavily armed terrorists stormed targets
in Mumbai including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a hospital and a
bustling train station.
India blames the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant
organisation for training, equipping and financing the gunmen with
support from "elements" in the Pakistan military.
'India should end death penalty'
Hours after Kasab was hanged in Pune, Human Rights Watch urged India to remove the death penalty from its legal framework.
"The hanging of Kasab marks a concerning end to the country's
moratorium on capital punishment," said a statement from the US-based
rights group issued in India.
"Instead of resorting to the use of execution to address heinous
crime, India should join the rising ranks of nations that have taken the
decision to remove the death penalty from their legal frameworks," it
added.
( Based on
Hindustan times.com )
