Family seeks Afzal's body to perform last rites

Shocked lawyers allege government violated basic human rights

After hearing about Afzal Guru’s hanging on Saturday, his lawyers expressed shock and claimed complete ignorance of the execution.

His family members, through a counsel, wrote to Vimla Mehra, director general (prisons) of Tihar jail seeking the possession of his body to perform the last rites. N D Pancholi and Nandita Haksar, both counsels to Afzal Guru, reached Tihar jail at 12:30 pm.

Haksar said: “Not only has the government denied the basic human rights of the family members of meeting Afzal but they buried his body without their permission. They should have handed it over to the family.”

In a letter addressed to Vimla Mehra, the family said the last rites should be performed in a dignified manner.

“We are writing to you to please permit the family members to give Afzal Guru a proper dignified last rites in accordance with the religious traditions. If you could inform us when the family members can perform their Namaaz-e-Janaza (funeral ritual), we would appreciate it,” said the letter.

“We do not wish to make it a political issue in an atmosphere which is already volatile but the family members, as citizens of India, have a right, which must be respected,” the letter added.

N D Pancholi said that Afzal Guru had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in February 2011 seeking a transfer to a prison in Jammu and Kashmir.

In his petition, Afzal pleaded for shifting him to a prison in his home state as his family members were living there and that it was difficult for them to come over to Delhi to meet him.

“The petition is still pending before the court. Afzal Guru was very hopeful that the court would take a lenient view and would shift him to a jail in Kashmir,” Pancholi added.
Meanwhile, the jail authorities claimed that the rites have been performed religiously.

The jail manual states that the body of the executed prisoner shall be disposed off according to religious traditions.

Giving reasons for burying the body inside the jail premises, the authorities quote the manual which states, “If the executed prisoner’s relatives make a written application for performing the last rites, the Superintendent may, in his discretion, allow such request, provided that the relatives give an undertaking in writing that they will not make a public demonstration at burial. In cases where the Superintendent thinks that there is a likelihood of a public demonstration, he has the authority to refuse such permission.”