'The police made me a scapegoat to mask their failure to trace the mastermind'

The prosecution's view in the Parliament attack case is interesting. After Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar was released by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government on December 31, 1999 to secure the release of the passengers and crew of the hijacked Indian Airlines Airbus IC-814, the prosecution said a plan was hatched to attack India's Parliament.

The prosecution in its chargesheet said Azhar, at the behest of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence, instructed a man named Ghazi Baba to carry out this attack.

Baba, the prosecution said, asked a man named Tariq Ahmed to make arrangements for the attack.

It was in this connection, the prosecution claimed, that Baba met with Afzal Guru and the plan to attack Parliament began to take shape.

The prosecution claimed Afzal Guru arranged for the passage of the terrorists who in turn smuggled in huge quantities of arms and ammunition.

Afzal Guru, the prosecution claimed, coordinated with two men named Hamza, Raja and Rana who smuggled the arms into Delhi.

Afzal Guru, the chargesheet further claimed, helped the terrorists buy the required chemicals and a Sujata mixer-grinder for making explosives. He was also actively involved in buying a white Ambassador car, which was used in the attack.

On the day of the attack, the terrorists, the prosecution claimed, asked Afzal Guru to watch television and instruct them on the movements of the security agencies and VIPs in the complex and keep them informed on their mobile phones.

After the terrorists entered the Parliament House complex after clearing security with a 'Home Ministry' sticker and a VIP red light on the Ambassador car, they tried to park the car near Gate 11 of the complex, which is used by the vice-president of India, who is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

As they reversed their car, it hit a car belonging to the vice-president's security team. The terrorists got out of the car and started firing.

All the five terrorists and nine others died in the attack; 16 security personnel were injured.

After the attack, the prosecution charged that Afzal Guru left for Srinagar, following which he was traced on the basis of calls made from his mobile phone.

Excerpts from letters Afzal Guru wrote, which put a mysterious spin on the case:

Afzal Guru's letter to the All India Defence Committee:

Iould like to inform your honorary committee that in the trial of the Parliament attack case in the designated session court I was not given defence aid/amicus curie in spite of giving three applications for the lawyer of my own choice...

Not a single witness was cross-questioned on behalf of me by any legal aid.

There were most of the witnesses which I have seen for the first time in court...

I remained speechless, a mute helpless spectator, as I was not allowed to speak except a few times...

Being in a high-security ward of Tihar jail where it is too difficult to communicate with other people like lawyer etc, in a week, I had seen a news through Indian Express daily that my lawyer had told the high court on behalf of me that I had accepted the death sentence and I want only that method/way of killing/hanging should be changed by injecting the powerful toxic injection so as to reduce the pain of dying...

I object and challenge this false statement which has been actually given by lawyer himself without my knowledge and consent, making my whole process of appeal a mockery....

The magnitude and the gravity of my unknowing, unwilling and unintentional involvement in the Parliament attack case was from the beginning emotionalised and magnified by the police through all possible means due to my helplessness, ignorance of law (legal process) and inability to manage the suitable legal aid....

The police made me a scapegoat so as to mask their inability and failure to trace the mastermind of the Parliament attack and to make people a fool...

Keeping all these points and facts in view I am requesting to your honorary that the reality of my fabricated involvement in the Parliament attack case should come out/exposed before the people and the Supreme Court of India.

In the Parliament attack case I was entrapped by the Special Task Force of Kashmir. Here in Delhi the designated court sentenced me to death on the basis of special police version which works in nexus with STF...

When I was arrested at Srinagar bus stand I was taken to STF headquarters. From here the special police along with STF brought me to Delhi...

In Srinagar at Parompora police station my belongings were seized. Then they beat me and threatened me with dire consequences regarding my wife and family if I reveal or disclose the reality before anybody...

Even my younger brother -- Hilal Ahmad Guru -- was taken into police custody without any warrant etc, and was kept there for 2, 3 months...

This was first told to me by ACP Rajbir Singh. Special police told me that if I will speak according to their wishes they will not harm my family members and also gave me false assurance that they will make my case weak so that after sometime I will get released...

The most important priority I gave to safety of my family. As I know from the last seven years how the STF men kill the Kashmiris, how they had made youth invisible while killing them in custody...

I am a living and organic eyewitness to various tortures and custodial killings. I am myself the victim of STF terror and torture...

Being an surrendered militant of JKLF I was constantly harassed, threatened and agonised by various security agencies like Army, BSF and STF....

STF is unorganised, without being accountable, a band and gang of renegades patronised by the state government. They intrude every house, every family, everywhere in Kashmir, anytime, day or night...

If anybody is picked up by STF and his family came to know this, then family members only wait to get his dead body which they hope. But usually they never came to know his whereabouts...

Under these circumstances and under this fearful environment persons like me are always ready to play any dirty game in the hands of STF. Just for the survival...

The people who are able to pay cash are not forced to do the dirty things the way I did as I was not able to pay...

One policeman of the same police station of Parimpora extorted Rs 5,000 long before the attack and threatened me that he will charge me of selling duplicate medicines and surgical items, which I was doing business at Sopore in 2000...

He came here in the designated court and became a witness against me. He was knowing me before Parliament attack. In the court room he told me in Kashmiri that my family is ok. Indirectly, it was a hidden threat...

Throughout the trial I remained a mute and helpless spectator...

I remained frustrated, bewildered and confused between the security and safety of myself and my family. I protected and saved my family...

That is how I am lying in Death row...

In 1997-98 I started a business of medicines and surgical instruments on commission basis as I could not get a govt job due to the reason of being an surrendered militant...

Surrendered militants were not given jobs. They were either to work as SPOs or STF or to join the renegades under the patronage of security forces or police. Every day SPOs were get killed by militants...

In these conditions I started my commission based business earning Rs 4,000, Rs 5,000 per month. But since the police informers (SPOs) usually harass those surrendered militants who do not work with STF etc.

From 1998-2000 I usually used to pay Rs 300, sometimes Rs 500 to local SPO so as to keep myself in business. Otherwise, these SPOs present us before security agencies...

As I was working hard in my business my business flourished...

One day at 10 am I was on my scooter that I had purchased just before two months. I was whisked away by STF men in a bullet-proof Gypsy to Palhallan camp. There the DSP tortured me...

At evening time one of his inspectors told me that if I can pay Rs 100,000 to the DSP I will be released or they will kill me....

Ultimately I accepted to pay them Rs 100,000 for which my family sold the gold of my wife. Even after this they could manage only Rs 80,000...

Then they took the scooter too which was just 2, 3 months old which I bought for Rs 24,000. Thus after getting 1 lakh rupees they let me free...

But now I was a broken person. In the STF camp there was one more victim named Tariq. He suggested I should always cooperate with STF, otherwise they will always harass and will not let me to live a normal-free life...

This was a turning point of my life...

I decided to live the way Tariq told me. Since from 1990-1996 I had studied in Delhi University. I was also giving tuitions in different coaching centres and also home tuitions. This fact reached a man named Altaf Hussain...

Altaf told me that I should teach his two children as his children were not able to go outside for tuition due to militant threat.

One day Altaf took me to a DSP who told me that I had to do a small job for him, to take one man to Delhi as I was well aware about Delhi and to manage a rented house for him.

I was not knowing the man, but I suspected that this man is not Kashmiri as he did not speak in Kashmiri, but I was helpless... I took him to Delhi...

One day he told me that he want to purchase a car. Thus I went with him to Karol Bagh. He purchased the car. Then in Delhi he used to meet different persons...

One day Mohammad told me that if I want to go back to Kashmir, I can. He also gave me Rs 35,000 and told me that this gift is for you...

6 days or 8 days before I took a rented room at Indra Vihar for my family as I decided to live in Delhi with my family because I was not satisfied with my life...

I left the keys of rented house to my landlady and told her that I will be back after Eid festival on 14th Dec...

I contacted Tariq in Srinagar. At evening he told me when I came back from Delhi. I replied just one hour before. Next morning when I was about to leave to Sopore from bus stand police caught me and took me to Parampora police station...

Tariq was there also with STF. They took Rs 35,000 from my pocket, beat me and directly took me to STF headquarters. From there I was taken to Delhi...

My eyes were blindfolded. Here I found myself in special police torture cell...

In special cell custody I told them everything regarding Mohammad etc, but they told me that I, Showkat, his wife Navjot (Afshan), Geelani are the people behind Parliament attack. They threatened me regarding my family...

They tried me and forced me to implicate Showkat, his wife and Geelani, but I did not yield. I told them this is not possible...

After some days I was presented before media hand-cuffed. There were NDTV, Aaj tak, Zee news, Sahara TV etc. Rajbir Singh (ACP) was also there. When one of the interviewer Shams Tahir told me what is the role of Geelani in Parliament attack, I just said that Geelani is innocent...

ACP Rajbir Singh got up from his chair. He shouted at me and told me that he had already said not to speak about Geelani in front of everybody...

Rajbir Singh's behaviour exposed my helplessness. Media personnel at least came to know that what Afzal is saying under threat or duress. Then Rajbir Singh requested TV personnel that the question regarding Geelani should not be shown...

At evening time Rajbir Singh told me that if I want to talk [to] my family. I replied yes...

Then I talked to my wife. After finishing my phone he told me if I want to see my wife and family alive I must cooperate [with] them at every step. They took me to various places in Delhi. From where they showed that Mohammad had purchased different things...

They took me to Kashmir from where we came back without doing anything. They made me to sign on atleast 200, 300 blank pages...

Special Police is definitely part of this game because every time they forced me to remain silent...