NEW DELHI — India on Wednesday hanged the lone surviving gunman from the deadly terror attack in Mumbai four years ago that left 166 people dead.
Ajmal Amir Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, was one of 10 gunmen who sailed into India’s financial hub of Mumbai and launched a series of attacks on two five-star hotels, the city’s main train station, a restaurant and a Jewish prayer center.
India’s home minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, told reporters in New Delhi that Kasab was hanged at 7:30 a.m. at a jail in Pune city, outside Mumbai. The hanging comes just five days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the attack.
“It was decided on the 7th of November, it was important to keep it a secret,” Shinde said and added that there was no demand from Pakistan for the Kasab’s body so far. “We have informed Pakistan. If they demand it, we will hand over the body.”
Prithviraj Chavan, the chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, said Kasab will be buried in Pune itself.
“There is a rule of law that is followed in india, whether he is an Indian citizen or not,” Chavan said. “This shows that whatever time and money it takes, justice will be done.” Kasab was asked if he had any last wish or wanted to write his will. He said in writing that he did not feel the need to do so,” Chavan said.
The Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty for Kasab in August, and India’s president rejected his appeal for mercy on Nov. 5.
India blames members of the Pakistani militant group, Laskhar e-Taiba, for planning, training and carrying out the attacks. Indian investigators have asked for access to the accused men in Pakistan who they claim had trained the ten gunmen. The request has not been granted yet. Indian officials have also frequently complained about the slow progress of investigations and court trial in Pakistan.
Kasab was kept in a bombproof, egg-shaped cell in a Mumbai jail for four years, and every detail of his life — from his daily diet to the newspaper he read and how much money was being spent on keeping him alive — made headlines in the Indian media.
“I am very happy about the hanging because I was in a position to bring justice to 166 departed souls who died in the terror attack four years ago,” Ujwal Nikam, the prosecution lawyer in Kasab’s trial, said in a phone interview from Mumbai. “We established through the legal process how terror was exported to India from Pakistan. This will make Indians very happy because ultimately Kasab got a harsh punishment that is similar to the manner in which he mercilessly killed innocent people that day.”
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the spokesman of the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, which had been demanding a speedy hanging, told the television agency ANI that the hanging was “better late than never.”
“This is not just a hanging of a terrorist, but is a stern warning to the terror factory that produces people like Kasab,” Naqvi said.
Ajmal Amir Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, was one of 10 gunmen who sailed into India’s financial hub of Mumbai and launched a series of attacks on two five-star hotels, the city’s main train station, a restaurant and a Jewish prayer center.
India’s home minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, told reporters in New Delhi that Kasab was hanged at 7:30 a.m. at a jail in Pune city, outside Mumbai. The hanging comes just five days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the attack.
“It was decided on the 7th of November, it was important to keep it a secret,” Shinde said and added that there was no demand from Pakistan for the Kasab’s body so far. “We have informed Pakistan. If they demand it, we will hand over the body.”
Prithviraj Chavan, the chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, said Kasab will be buried in Pune itself.
“There is a rule of law that is followed in india, whether he is an Indian citizen or not,” Chavan said. “This shows that whatever time and money it takes, justice will be done.” Kasab was asked if he had any last wish or wanted to write his will. He said in writing that he did not feel the need to do so,” Chavan said.
The Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty for Kasab in August, and India’s president rejected his appeal for mercy on Nov. 5.
India blames members of the Pakistani militant group, Laskhar e-Taiba, for planning, training and carrying out the attacks. Indian investigators have asked for access to the accused men in Pakistan who they claim had trained the ten gunmen. The request has not been granted yet. Indian officials have also frequently complained about the slow progress of investigations and court trial in Pakistan.
Kasab was kept in a bombproof, egg-shaped cell in a Mumbai jail for four years, and every detail of his life — from his daily diet to the newspaper he read and how much money was being spent on keeping him alive — made headlines in the Indian media.
“I am very happy about the hanging because I was in a position to bring justice to 166 departed souls who died in the terror attack four years ago,” Ujwal Nikam, the prosecution lawyer in Kasab’s trial, said in a phone interview from Mumbai. “We established through the legal process how terror was exported to India from Pakistan. This will make Indians very happy because ultimately Kasab got a harsh punishment that is similar to the manner in which he mercilessly killed innocent people that day.”
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the spokesman of the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, which had been demanding a speedy hanging, told the television agency ANI that the hanging was “better late than never.”
“This is not just a hanging of a terrorist, but is a stern warning to the terror factory that produces people like Kasab,” Naqvi said.