NEW DELHI: The Tihar Jail, the largest prison of India, witnessed a hanging on Saturday after 24 years, when the 2001 parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was executed early morning, an official said.
Kehar Singh and Satwant Singh, assassins of then prime minister Indira Gandhi were hanged inside the jail in 1989.
Afzal Guru is the seventh man hanged inside the prison since 1981, a Tihar Jail official told IANS. Guru was hanged at 8am on Saturday.
In 1982, Ranga and Billa were executed for kidnapping and murdering two minors, Geeta Chopra and her younger brother Sanjay.
Maqbool Bhat of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front was executed in 1984 while Jugar Singh was hanged inside the jail in 1985 in the murder case of Vidya Jain.
In 1989, both the assassins of Indira Gandhi were executed by the famous hangman, "Kalu", a resident of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. He was paid Rs 150 for carrying out the execution process.
'Hanged for 8 minutes'
Guru was hanged at 8am on Saturday in front of eight people in the Tihar Jail in a procedure that took eight minutes, prison sources said.
They told IANS that Guru was informed about his hanging late Friday evening after a death warrant was issued by a Delhi court.
"He was told about his hanging yesterday (Friday) by the jailor," a source said.
The source said Guru was hanged about 20 metres from his cell where he spent 12 years in solitary confinement.
"There were eight people, including a doctor, a magistrate and some jail officials, present when he was hanged. He was hanged for eight minutes," the source told IANS.
Guru was buried quietly soon after the hanging.
After he was woken up at 5am, he offered prayers before calmly approaching the noose, officials said. A Muslim cleric was also present during his hanging.
Guru was convicted for his role in plotting the December 13, 2001, attack on Parliament House, in which 10 people were killed when five armed terrorists stormed into the complex when 100 MPs, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Cabinet ministers were inside.
Tihar Jail witnesses hanging after 24 years, Afzal Guru was hanged for eight minutes
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Tihar Jail witnesses hanging after 24 years, Afzal Guru was hanged for eight minutes
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Tihar Jail witnesses hanging after 24 years, Afzal Guru was hanged for eight minutes
