Mumbai attack terrorist executed

New Delhi, NOV. 21 (dpa/GNA) - Ajmal Kasab, the only gunman to be caught alive during the 2008 terrorist siege in India's financial hub Mumbai, was hanged early Wednesday, authorities said.     Kasab, 24, was convicted of murder and other crimes by a sessions court in May 2010. The verdict was later upheld by the Bombay High Court and India’s Supreme Court.   President Pranab Mukherjee rejected Kasab’s plea for clemency on November 5 and Kasab was moved from a Mumbai jail to Pune’s Yervada jail two days ago, Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil said in a televised press briefing.   “Today at 7.30 am (0200 GMT) Ajmal Kasab was hanged at Yervada Central Jail in Pune,” Patil announced. He was later buried in the jail's grounds.   A total of 166 people died in the attack on Mumbai by 10 gunmen, of whom nine were killed by security forces. Over 300 people were injured.   India said the attackers arrived by sea from Pakistan, and were trained by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group based in that country.   The gunmen attacked several sites in Mumbai including the city's main railway station, luxury hotels and a Jewish centre over a period of 60 hours from the night of November 26, 2008.   “The government of Pakistan has been informed of the hanging,” federal Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters in New Delhi.   Asked about the secrecy shrouding the time and place of the execution, Shinde said it was necessary but did not elaborate.   Kasab was kept in a high-security cell in a jail in Mumbai for three-and-a-half years while the legal process took place. His hanging came days before the fourth anniversary of the Mumbai attack.   Kasab had been informed of his hanging on November 12 and had wanted his mother to be informed, the Daily News and Analysis newspaper reported, citing Home Ministry sources. A letter had been sent by courier to an address Kasab had provided, the report said.   "If Pakistan or the family asks for the body, we will consider it," External Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed said. "Right now, we don't have any such request."   Khursheed said the rule of law had prevailed in India and he hoped it would be the same in Pakistan.   India says the Mumbai attack was planned in Pakistan and has accused Islamabad of failing to take action against those responsible including LeT founder Hafiz Sayeed.   Pakistan has said it has been carrying out investigations and seven people are being tried for their alleged roles in the attack.   Reactions to the hanging ranged from jubilation, a sense of closure among relatives of those who died, to renewed debate on capital punishment.   "Nation celebrates hanging," said a tagline on Times Now television. "Mumbai's butcher hanged," a banner on the Headlines Today channel said.   "With this hanging, homage has been paid to my husband. But the real homage will be the conviction of other accused shielded in Pakistan," Smita Saluskar, wife of a police officer killed during the attack, was quoted as saying by NDTV news channel.   "Why should I rejoice Kasab's death? I will rejoice when little innocent children will stop being taught to kill in the name of god and religion," tweeted Ashish Chowdhury, whose sister and brother-in-law were killed in the attack.   "Instead of resorting to the use of execution to address heinous crime, India should join the rising ranks of nations that have taken the decision to remove the death penalty from their legal frameworks," Human Rights Watch India said in a statement.   There have been only two executions in the country since 1995. GNA    ... Read Full Story