Afzal Guru

Afzal Guru (Mohammad Afzal) was sentenced to death for conspiring in the 13 December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament carried out by unidentified men belonging to the terror groups Lashker-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad.[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Afzal Guru. Reuters"]

[/caption]Five trained suicide bombers drove into the parliament in a white ambassador fitted with improvised explosive device at 11.30 am and on being challenged, they opened killing security personnel on duty there while the Parliament was into its winter session. All five unidentified suicide bombers were gunned down. Afzal’s cellphone number was found behind the attackers' IDs and on the SIM cards retrieved from their mobile phones. Afzal was alleged to be the Sri Nagar-based handler of the five terrorists. He was sentenced to death by the Supreme court of India in 2004.The Supreme Court judgement read:

Five heavily armed persons stormed the Parliament House complex and inflicted heavy casualties on the security men on duty. This unprecedented event bewildered the entire nation and sent shockwaves across the globe. In the gun battle that lasted thirty minutes, these five terrorists who tried to gain entry into the Parliament when it was in session, were killed. Nine persons including eight security personnel and one gardener succumbed to the bullets of the terrorists and 16 persons including 13 security men received injuries. The five terrorists were ultimately killed...

While Afzal was on death row, several Human Rights groups and some political Kashmiri groups appealed for clemency for Afzal. Arundhati Roy was one of the voices in support of a 'fair trial' to Afzal, as she wrote in the Guardian. Tehelka reported that the entire investigation was carried out in 17 days by the special cell of the Delhi Police. There were 12 accused. Five were killed. Three we never arrested. Of the remaining 4 who were arrested two were acquitted by the Delhi High Court. Investigators were rapped by the court for the production of false arrest memos, doctoring of telephone conversations and forceful confinement of people and pressurising them to sign blank papers. “None of the 80 prosecution witnesses ever even alleged that Afzal was in any way associated with or belonged to any terrorist organisation. He has been awarded the death sentence entirely on the basis of circumstantial evidence,” it says.In a letter to All India Defence Committee, Afzal Guru talked about how he was not given defence aid despite three applications of lawyers of his choice. Read his letter to the President of India here.On August 10, the government forwarded the mercy petition of the 2001 parliament attack convict Afzal Guru to President Pratibha Patil for a decision but with a recommendation that he may be executed.