President Pranab Mukherjee had rejected the mercy petition of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on February 3, leading to his hanging on Saturday, Union Home Secretary R K Singh has said.
"The President rejected Afzal Guru's mercy petition on February 3. After that, we followed the jail manual and his hanging took place today," he told reporters.
Asked about Afzal's burial, the home secretary said, "We will follow the jail manual and act according to the law".
Singh said with the hanging of Afzal Guru, the proceedings of the 2001 Parliament attack case has come to its logical conclusion.
"Law and justice took its own course," he said.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who confirmed the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, on Saturday said that his mercy plea was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee on February 3, and added that he signed the file the very next day.
"Afzal Guru's case was already recommended by the home ministry earlier in 2011. I examined (his case) in detail, it took me some time, but I recommended to the President of India on January 21," Shinde said.
"And the file came to me from the President of India on February 3. On February 4, I signed the file and it was sent for further execution to the department,” he said.
