Afzal Guru showed no signs of any remorse: Tihar officials

Jaish-e-Mohammad militant Afzal Guru, who was hanged today for his role in the deadly terror attack on Parliament in 2001, was remorseless when he was taken to the gallows in the morning.

Senior Tihar Jail officials who oversaw the entire preparation for hanging of Guru said he was "very peaceful" and "calm" during the final moments and did not appear repentant.

"He was very peaceful and calm during the final moments. He looked very composed," a top Tihar Jail official told PTI.

The official said Guru, who was lodged in Jail No.3 of the prison, was informed about his impending execution last evening and looked a "little shaken" thereafter.

A resident of Sopore in north Kashmir, 43-year-old Guru was executed at 8 AM near Jail No.3 in a top-secret operation.

A magistrate, a doctor and senior prison officials were present during his execution.

Another official said Guru was woken up at around 5 AM and was served tea. He offered Namaz immediately after getting up. "He was taken to the gallows at 7:30 AM," the official said.

Asked whether he was remorseless in his final moments, Director General of Prisons Vimla Mehra said, "He was happy and healthy. That answers your question."

A doctor carried out a health check up of Guru before he was taken to gallows near his cell. Mehra said normal procedure was followed in the hanging.

His body was buried inside the prison complex soon after his execution. "He (Guru) was buried near Jail No.3 with full religious rites," said another Tihar Jail official.

A Maulavi performed religious rites.

Guru spent over 10 years on death row in the Tihar prison after being convicted in the audacious attack on Parliament in 2001.

The jail authorities refused to share any details about whether he had any last wish or about any final words.

Guru, a former fruit merchant, was found guilty of conspiring and sheltering the militants who attacked Parliament on December 13, 2001, in which nine persons were killed.

The mercy plea of Guru, who was sentenced to death in 2002 by a special court and later upheld by the Supreme Court in 2005, was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee on January 3.

The family of Guru residing in Sopore in north Kashmir was informed about the decision of the Government that his mercy petition has been rejected.

However, Guru's lawyers Nandita Haksar and N Pancholi said his family was not informed about the government decision to hang him.

The lawyers said the family came to know about Guru's hanging only through news channels.

"The family was not informed about the decision. They came to know only through news channels. The family is in Sopore. They cannot come due to curfew," the lawyers said.