2001 Indian Parliament attack
Location	New Delhi, India
Date	13 December 2001 (UTC+05:30)
Target	Parliament of India building
Attack type	Shooting
Deaths	12, including 5 militants
Injured	18
Perpetrators	Lashkar-e-Taiba[1] Jaish-e-Mohammed[2]

The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a high-profile attack by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists^[1][3] against the building housing the Parliament of India in New Delhi. The attack led to the death of a dozen people, including one civilian^[4] and to increased tensions between India and Pakistan and the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff.^[5]

The attack[link]

On 13 December 2001, five gunmen infiltrated the Parliament House in a car with Home Ministry and Parliament labels.^[6] While both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha had been adjourned 40 minutes prior to the incident, many Members of Parliament (MPs) and government officials such as Home Minister LK Advani and Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak were believed to have still been in the building at the time of the attack.^[7] (Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Opposition Leader Sonia Gandhi had already left). The gunmen drove their vehicle into the car of the Indian Vice President Krishan Kant (who was in the building at the time), got out, and began firing their weapons. The Vice President's guards and security personnel shot back at the terrorists and then started closing the gates of the compound. The lady constable Kamlesh Kumari was first to spot the terrorist squad. One gunman, wearing a suicide vest, was shot dead; the vest exploded. The other four gunmen were also killed. Five policemen, a Parliament security guard, and a gardener were killed, and 18 others were injured.^[8] No minister or any MP was hurt.

Trial[link]

The attack triggered extensive and effective investigations which revealed the possible involvement of the four accused namely Mohd. Afzal, Shaukat Hussain Guru and S.A.R. Gilani and Navjot Sandhu a.k.a. Afsan Gurusome other proclaimed offenders said to be the leaders of the banned militant organization known as Jaish-i-Mohammed". After the conclusion of investigation, the investigating agency filed the report under Section 173 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (India) against the four accused persons on May 14, 2002. Charges were framed under various sections of Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 and the Explosive Substances Act by the designated sessions Court.

The designated Special Court was presided over by S.N. Dhingra and the accused were tried on the charges and the trial concluded within a record period of about six months. 80 witnesses were examined for the prosecution and 10 witnesses were examined on behalf of the accused S.A.R. Gilani. About 300 documents were exhibited. Afzal Guru, Shaukat Hussain Guru and S.A.R. Gilani were convicted for the offences under Sections 121, 121A, 122, Section 120B read with Sections 302 & 307 read with Section 120B IPC, sub-Sections (2), (3) & (5) of Section 3 and Section 4(b) of POTA and Sections 3 & 4 of Explosive Substances Act. The accused 1 & 2 were also convicted under Section 3(4) of POTA. Accused No.4 namely Navjot Sandhu a.k.a. Afsan Guru was acquitted of all the charges except the one under Section 123 IPC for which she was convicted and sentenced to undergo R.I. for five years and to pay fine. Death sentences were imposed on the other three accused for the offence under Section 302 read with Section 120B IPC and Section 3(2) of POTA. They were also sentenced to life imprisonment on as many as eight counts under the provisions of IPC, POTA and Explosive Substances Act in addition to varying amounts of fine. The amount of Rs.10 lakhs, which was recovered from the possession of two of the accused, namely, Mohd. Afzal and Shaukat Hussain, was forfeited to the State under Section 6 of the POTA.^[9]

Response[link]

Indian Government initially accused LeT and JeM to be involved in this attack. However, Lashkar-e-Taiba denied any involvement in the incident.^[1][3] In December 2002, four JeM members were caught by Indian authorities and put on trial. All four were found guilty of playing various roles in the incident, although the fourth, Afsan Guru/Navjot Sandhu, wife of Shaukat Hussain Guru (one of the accused) was found guilty of a minor charge of concealing knowledge of conspiracy. One of the accused, Mohammad Afzal Guru, was sentenced to the death penalty for the incident.^[10]

World leaders and leaders in India's immediate neighbourhood condemned the attack on the Parliament. On 14 December, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) blamed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed for the attack. Home Minister LK Advani claimed, "[w]e have received some clues about yesterday's incident, which shows that a neighbouring country, and some terrorist organisations active there behind it",^[11] in an indirect reference to Pakistan and Pakistan-based terrorist groups. The same day, in a demarche to Pakistani High Commissioner to India Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, India demanded that Pakistan stop the activities of LeT and JeM, that Pakistan apprehend the organisations' leaders and that Pakistan curb the financial assets and the groups access to these assets.^[12] In response to the Indian government's statements, Pakistani forces were put on high alert the same day. On 20 December, India mobilised and deployed its troops to Kashmir and Punjab in what was India's largest military mobilisation since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

Following the attack, many suspects were arrested, and in December 2002 four Jaish-e-Mohammed members were convicted for roles in the attack.^[10] In 2003, India said its forces had killed the mastermind of the attack in Kashmir.^[13]

Mohammad Afzal, sentenced to death by Indian court and due to be hanged on 20 October, had his execution stayed. His family had camped in New Delhi to meet the President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam to accept the mercy petition. Also the family of Kamlesh Kumari, a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) Jawan who died in the attack has said that they would return the Ashok Chakra awarded to her, if the president accepts the petition, but it is unclear if it had been done so. On 13 December 2006, the families of the deceased returned the medals to the government. As of April 2007, the then President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, refused to interfere in the judicial process.^[14]

See also[link]

• Kashmir conflict
• Pakistan and state terrorism

References[link]

Mohammad Afzal Guru, also known as Afzal Guru, is a Kashmiri terrorist who was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of India in 2004. The sentence was scheduled to be carried out on 20 October 2006. Afzal was given a stay of execution and remains on death row.

Early life[link]

He belonged to Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir.^[1] He had completed the first year of his MBBS course and was pursuing for IAS exams. However later on he was involved in terrorist activities and became a member of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front and subsequently went to Pakistan and received terrorist training and got involved into such terrorist activities. Unhappy with the situation there, he shifted back to India and surrendered before Border Security Force.^[2] In a 2011 interview to Tehelka, he stated that his family had probably been Brahmins around seven centuries ago.^[3]

In his confessional statement during the trial, he mentioned about joining JKLF, a militant outfit during the year 1989-90 and had received training in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan in insurgent activities and coming back to India with arms. He then confessed about arriving in Delhi with his cousin Shaukat for studies, coming into contact with SAR Gilani while studying in Delhi University, surrendering before Border Security Force in 1993 on the advice of his family members, returning back to his native place Sopore and doing commission agency business, coming into contact with one Tariq of Anantanag at that time, who motivated him to join Jihad for liberation of Kashmir and assured him of financial assistance, Tariq introducing him to one Ghaziabad, Karachi who was a proclaimed offender in Kashmir who further exhorted him to join the movement and apprised him of the mission to carry out attacks on important institutions in India like Parliament and Embassies and asked him to find a safe hideout for the 'Fidayeens' in Delhi.

The case[link]

The attack was conducted jointly by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM). Seven members of the security forces, including a female constable, were killed, as were the five still incompletely identified men who carried out the attack.

Following were the charges against Afzal Guru as per the Chargesheet: The Charges against him included:^[1]

• Leading the Police to recovery of explosive substance from his place of hideout in Delhi.
• Conspiring to commit and knowingly facilitated the commission of a terrorist act or acts preparatory to terrorist act and also voluntarily harboured and concealed the deceased terrorists knowing that such persons were terrorists and he himself were the members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, a banned terrorist organisation, which is involved in terrorists act and hence committed an offence punishable Under Section 3(3) (4) and (5) of Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act.
• Possession of 10 Lakhs given to them by the terrorists who were killed by the police when they had attacked the Parliament of India.

He was arrested on December 12, 2001 along with Shaukat and later on explosives were found from their hideout in Delhi. Eighty witnesses were examined for the prosecution and ten were examined for defense. The judgment mentions:

"The incident, which resulted in heavy casualties, has shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will be satisfied if the capital punishment is awarded to the offender."^[4]

On December 19, 2001 he made a confession of the offenses which was recorded and was signed by him. He also confirmed having made the confessional statement without any threat or pressure.^[5]

He was convicted for the offences under Sections 121, 121A, 122, Section 120B read with Sections 302 & 307 read with Section 120B IPC, sub-Sections (2), (3) & (5) of Section 1, 3(4), 4(b)of POTA and Sections 3 & 4 of Explosive Substances Act. He was also sentenced to life imprisonment on as many as eight counts under the provisions of IPC, POTA and Explosive Substances Act in addition to varying amounts of fine.^[6]

An appeal was made to the Delhi High Court but after going through the case and taking in consideration various authorities and precedents, the Court found that the conviction of Afzal Guru was safe and hence his appeal was dismissed.^[1]

Pressure for clemency[link]

There is an appeal to issue clemency to Afzal from various human rights groups including political groups in Kashmir, who believe that Afzal Guru did not receive a fair trial and was subject to a frame up of corrupt and inefficient police work. Human rights activists in various parts of India and the world have demanded reprieve as they believe that the trial was flawed. Arundhati Roy and Praful Bidwai castigated the trial and argued that Afzal has been denied natural justice.^[7][8] Accusations of human rights violations have been made by many.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Indian National Congress and local political groups voiced their support of clemency for Afzal. It is alleged many have done so to appease Muslim voters in India.^[9]

Communist Party of India (Marxist) is critical of both the Congress, who is delaying the legal procedure in the case as well as BJP who tries to whip up enmity between communities in the name of a crime done by a group of criminals. The party wants the law of the land to take its course without any interference.^[10]

Ram Jethmalani holds that it is completely within the President's power to commute the Death sentence and is not a mercy plea. He says, "It’s a misnomer to call it a mercy petition. It leads to total misunderstanding of the constitutional power. The constitutional power is that the President has the power to disagree with the Supreme Court both with its findings of fact and law."^[11]

But others^[who?] are of the view that such a sweeping Constitutional power cannot be given to the President inasmuch as it would subvert the concept of justice enshrined in the Constitution.

The Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party president and MP, Mehbooba Mufti commented that the Centre should pardon Afzal if Pakistan accepted the clemency appeal for Sarabjit Singh.^[12]

Ms. Mufti, said that if clemency appeals were made for Sarabjit citing his Indian nationality, voices should also be raised for Afzal for "he too is an Indian citizen". "Two citizens of India cannot be treated with different yardsticks" she had said.

However, the All India Anti-Terrorist Front Chairman Maninderjeet Singh Bitta has urged the President of India not to accept any clemency pleas on Afzal's behalf. He warned that his organisation would launch agitations if Afzal was pardoned. He also criticised statements of various political leaders and blamed them for "encouraging activities of militants in Jammu and Kashmir".^[13]

An India Today poll in late October showed that 78% of Indians supported the death penalty for Afzal^[9]

On 12 November 2006, the former Deputy Prime Minister of India, Mr. Lal Krishna Advani criticized the delay in carrying out the death sentence on Guru for the Parliament terror attack, saying, "I fail to understand the delay. They have increased my security. But what needs to be done immediately is to carry out the court's orders".

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has severely criticized Arundhati Roy. BJP spokespoerson Prakash Javadekar said:

"Those who are supporting Afzal by demanding that he should not be hanged are not only acting against public sentiment in the country but are giving a fillip to terrorist morale," ^[14]

On 23 June 2010, the Ministry of Home Affairs has recommended the President's office to reject the mercy petition.
On the 7th of January 2011, a whisleblowing site indianleaks.in has leaked a document which states that the mercy petition file is not with President of India.^[15] This was confirmed by Home Minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi on 23 Feb 2011.^[16]

On the 10th of August 2011 the home ministry of India rejected the mercy petition and sent a letter to the President of India recommending the death penalty .^[17]

Posted on Sep 07, 2011 at 02:42pm IST, HuJI claims responsibility for Delhi HC blast at the Delhi High Court in which 10 people have been killed and 65 others injured. HuJI in an e-mail sent to a media house claimed that the blast was carried out in retaliation to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's death sentence.

"We owe the responsibility of todays blasts at high court delhi..... our demand is that Afzal Guru's death sentence should be repealed immediately else we would target major high courts & THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA," the e-mail read.

See also[link]

• Justice for Afzal Guru - website
• 2001 Indian Parliament attack
• Maulana Masood Azhar
• Indian Airlines Flight 814
• Ajmal Kasab

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} State v. Mohd. Afzal and Ors., Judgment of High Court of Delhi in Murder Reference No. 1/2003 and Crl. A. No. 43/2003 by J. Usha Mehra and J. Pradeep Nandrajog 9October 29, 20030
2. ^ http://www.amarujala.com/national/nat-Afzal-Compunction-why-not-exploded-a-car-bomb-16054.html.
3. ^ "Afzal Guru invited Tihar jail superintendent Manoj Dwivedi to convert to Islam". Tehelka. 29 August 2011. http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws290811Afzal.asp. Retrieved 27 December 2011. 
4. ^ http://justiceforafzalguru.org/background/AfzalBooklet-1.pdf
5. ^ State ( N . C . T . of Delhi ) vs . Navjot Sandhu @ Afsan Guru, Supreme Court of India, August 8, 2005
6. ^ State ( N . C . T . of Delhi ) vs . Navjot Sandhu @ Afsan Guru, Supreme Court of India, August 8, 2005.
7. ^ Roy, Arundhati (15 December 2006). "India's shame". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,,1972788,00.html. Retrieved 13 May 2010. 
8. ^ Afzal must not hang
9. ^ ^{a b} (30 October 2006). No Mercy. India Today, [5(43)], [14-15].
10. ^ Playing With National Security People's Democracy
11. ^ http://www.tehelka.com/story_main21.asp?filename=Ne102806Afzal_was_CS.asp
12. ^ [1]
13. ^ "Bitta urges President not to pardon Afzal". The Times Of India. 8 November 2006. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/366888.cms. 
14. ^ The Hindustani Times
15. ^ "Afzal Guru Mercy petition file is not with President of India!". Indian Leaks. 7 January 2010. http://indianleaks.in/leaks/afzal-guru-mercy-petition-file-in-not-with-president-of-india/. 
16. ^ "Afzal Guru’s mercy petition not yet sent to president: Chidambaram.". Deccan Herald. 23 February 2011. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/140350/afzal-gurus-mercy-petition-not.html. 
17. ^ "Home Ministry rejects Afzal Guru's mercy petition.". CNN-IBN. 10 August 2011. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/home-ministry-rejects-afzal-gurus-mercy-plea/174655-3.html. 

External links[link]

• Bitta urges President not to pardon Afzal
• Clemency-seekers weakened Afzal's defence
• Terror needs direct response