Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Govt unlikely to hand over Afzal Guru's body to his family

(PTI)


New Delhi: The government is unlikely to hand over slain Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's body to his family in Jammu and Kashmir. Sources in the Home Ministry say they are not considering handing over the body to his family as this may lead to security issues in the valley.
Sources say the government is wary of a fragile situation erupting in Jammu and Kashmir if his body is handed over to his family. Sources have added that the government is open to the option of Afzal Guru's family visiting the Tihar jail and paying their respects to him. However, Afzal Guru's family reportedly does not want to visit Tihar and want the body to be sent to Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, new details have emerged of Afzal Guru's last moments in the jail.
In the eight line letter Afzal asked his family to not feel a sense of loss and asked them to feel proud of his sacrifice. The letter written in Urdu was released by his family on Sunday evening. In the letter which was written at 6.25 am on February 9, "Allah is ally and protector," were the closing words of the letter penned by Afzal. Just before Afzal was to be hanged he had asked for a pen and paper to write the letter to his wife.
Afzal Guru's wife had earlier said she had full right over his body and demanded that the mortal remains be handed over to her for "proper burial" in his home state of Jammu and Kashmir. In her short letter, Tabassum had said that as Afzal's wife she had full right over the body and its formal burial in his home state in keeping with religious traditions.
Afzal was buried inside the Tihar jail soon after his hanging in a secret operation on February 9 alongside Kashmiri separatist leader Maqbool Bhat, who was also buried in the jail complex after his hanging in 1984.
The government has already said it will allow close relatives to visit Afzal's grave, an offer rejected by the family saying they want nothing but his body.

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