Mumbai (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist surviving the attacks in Mumbai in 2008, was executed this morning. The execution, which was done by hanging, took place at 7:30 a.m. (local time) in the Yerawada central prison (Pune, Maharashtra). The body of the condemned man was buried shortly afterwards inside the prison. Of Pakistani origin, Kasab had no last wish or will. R. R. Patil, Maharashtra home minister, made the announcement, stating that the Government of Pakistan had been informed by letter of the impending action. However, Islamabad refused to receive the letter. The death sentence was carried out five days from the anniversary the killings, which took place November 26, 2008 and cost the lives of 166 people.
With Ajmal Kasab's hanging, a heavy chapter closes on recent Indian history and on the entire court proceedings related to the attacks in Mumbai. For Patil, the hanging of the Pakistani terrorist is "a real tribute to the innocent victims, including police officers and security personnel who laid down their lives in those hours. The Mumbai attacks were an attack on the entire country."
Despite being considered an "act owed" to the people of India, the speed and secrecy with which the sentence was carried out have aroused great surprise. The President Pranab Mukherjee denied the request for clemency on November 8, and Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde immediately signed the execution order. Two days ago, Kasab was moved from Arthur Road prison in Mumbai - where he had been imprisoned shortly after the attempt - to Yerawada prison. Finally, this morning's execution and burial, the announcement of which was made only after the fact. "For us", the minister Shinde said, "it was important to maintain secrecy."
On November 26, 2008, a series of attacks hit some of the hot spots of Mumbai: railway stations, local airports, hospitals, and two of the most luxurious hotels in the city, the Oberoi and the Taj Palace. The attacks left 166 dead and 238 wounded. According to Indian intelligence, the attacks were planned by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terrorist organization for the liberation of Kashmir linked to Pakistani intelligence (ISI). Kasab and nine other terrorists (who died in the attacks, ed.) were members of LeT. After the initial denial of any wrongdoing, Islamabad admitted that the attacks had been planned by Pakistan.
Ajmal Kasab was sentenced to death by a court in Mumbai on May 6, 2010. At the time, for some analysts, the young man (21 at the time of the attack, ed.) was a mere pawn, whose conviction would not strike the terrorist network. However, the High Court of Mumbai (February 21, 2011) and the Supreme Court of India (August 29, 2012) both confirmed the death penalty.