Under fire for not informing Afzal Guru’s family in time about his hanging, the Centre on Tuesday said his family members could visit his Tihar Jail grave for prayers, and promised to hand over all his belongings to them. Guru was hanged at Tihar on Saturday for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack and buried in the jail premises.
“We have no problem if the immediate family of Afzal Guru wants to come and offer prayers at his grave in Tihar,” Union home secretary R.K. Singh told reporters Tuesday. He added that Afzal’s belongings, including books, letters and clothes, will be handed over to his family.
In Srinagar, however, Afzal’s family outright rejected the government’s offer to allow it to visit his grave and offer prayers, saying “if it is a question of offering fateha (prayers), we can do it from here too”. Said Guru’s cousin Muhammad Yasin Guru: “In fact, we have been doing it, and everyone in Kashmir has been doing it since he was martyred”. He added the family’s demand was that Afzal’s remains be handed over to them for a “decent, traditional Islamic burial... It is our right”.