Agencies
New Delhi, Mar 3: A day after legislators belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demanded the return of mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the Ministry of Home Affairs is reported to have rejected the demand. Sources said the MHA has rejected the demand that Afzal Guru's remains be exhumed and returned to his family as the same appears to have been made for political reasons. Also, Afzal Guru's remains cannot be handed over to his family as he was buried, as per jail manual, in an unmarked grave, sources added. The demand was made in a PDP note which had the endorsement of nine PDP leaders, as per sources. A group of legislators of the ruling PDP on Monday issued a statement saying the constitutional process was not followed in hanging Afzal Guru. "The PDP has always maintained that late Afzal Guru's hanging was travesty of justice and constitutional requirements/process was not followed in hanging him out of turn," said an official statement issued by the PDP MLAs. "The way he was picked up from serial number 28 and singled out has been condemned by the PDP and it stands by the demand for return of his mortal remains." The legislators included Muhammad Khalil Bandh, Zahoor Ahmad Mir, Raja Manzoor Ahmad, Muhammad Abbas Wani, Yawar Dilawar Mir, Muhammad Yusuf, Aijaz Ahmad Mir and Noor Muhammad Sheikh. Afzal Guru was given the death penalty in the 2001 Parliament attack case, and was hanged on February 9, 2013. "We believe that the resolution brought by Engineer Rashid to seek clemency for late Afzal Guru was justified and should have been adopted by the house at that time," it said. The statement came a day after the PDP-BJP alliance government headed by Mufti Muhammad Sayeed took charge in Jammu and Kashmir. |
