Ajmal Kasab, prime accused in the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai in which at least 166 people were killed, was hanged in Yerwada Jail in Pune at 7:30 am this morning. He was the sole surviving member of the group of ten that had attacked the city on November 26, 2008.
Kasab had been arrested immediately after the attack in 2008. He was convicted and given capital punsihment by the trial court on May 6, 2010. The Bombay High Court upheld the sentence on February 21, 2011. Subsequently, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence on August 29, 2012.
Kasab had filed a mercy plea petition in September 2012. The Union Home Ministry had rejected the petition in October 2012. In the first week of November, 2012 President Pranab Mukherjee also rejected the plea.
Kasab was transferred to Yerwada Jail on November 19. He was earlier imprisoned in Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.
Sources at Yerwada Jail said that before the execution, Kasab was asked if he had a last wish or a will. He had said "no."
Maharashtra home minister R R Patil has confirmed that Ajmal Kasab was hanged till death. "This is a true homage to the innocent victims, including policemen and security personnel, who laid down their lives," he said.
Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said that the final decision to hang Kasab came on November 8 and he was transferred to Pune on November 19. The whole matter was kept a secret, he added.
Union Home Minister Sushil kumar Shinde has said that Pakistan was informed of Kasab's execution and that the judicial proceedings of 26/11 are complete with Kasab's death.
Shinde added that the Indian mission in Islamabad sent a letter to the Pakisatn government about Kasab's hanging. When pakistan refused to take the letter, it was sent through fax.
BJP spokesperson Abbas Mukhtar Naqvi said that Kasab's hanging is a matter of great satisfaction for the country.
Kasab's defence counsel in Pakistan has said that an important piece of evidence is lost for them. However, the Pakistan governement has said that it respects India's judicial process.
The Union Home Ministry has confirmed that Pakistan has not claimed Kasab's body. It has therefore been buried in Yerwada Jail premises.
