2001 Indian Parliament attack
2001 Indian Parliament attack | |
---|---|
hand grenades, explosive belt | |
Deaths | 9 (excluding 5 terrorists) |
Injured | 18 |
Perpetrators | Jaish-e-Mohammed[1] |
The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a
Indian authorities accused Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) – two terrorist groups operating from Pakistan – of perpetrating the attack;[2][3] however, LeT denied involvement.
The incident led to increased tensions between India and Pakistan, resulting in the 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff.
Attack
On 13 December 2001, five terrorists drove into the House of Parliament in a car with
The gunmen drove their vehicle into the car of the
Constable
Perpetrators
Delhi Police stated that five terrorists carried out the attack and the names given by them were: Hamza, Haider alias Tufail, Rana, Ranvijay and Mohammed – who were members of Jaish-e-Mohammed – were killed.[9][7][10]
Delhi Police officials said that the gunmen had received instructions from Pakistan and the operation had been carried out under the guidance of Pakistan's
Trial
Following the attack, many suspects were arrested, and in December 2002 four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were convicted for roles in the attack.[12] In 2003, the Border Security Force (BSF) eliminated Ghazi Baba, the commander-in-chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed and the mastermind of the attack, in the Noor Bagh neighborhood of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.[1]
The attack triggered extensive investigations, which revealed the involvement of four accused, namely
The designated Special Court was presided over by S. N. Dhingra. The accused were tried and the trial concluded within a record period of about six months.[when?] 80 witnesses were examined for the prosecution and 10 witnesses were examined on behalf of the accused S.A.R. Geelani. About 300 documents were exhibited. Afzal Guru, Shaukat Hussain and S.A.R. Geelani were convicted for the offences under Sections 121, 121A, 122, Section 120B read with Sections 302 & 307 read with Section 120B of IPC, sub-Sections (2), (3) and (5) of Section 3 and Section 4(b) of POTA and Sections 3 and 4 of Explosive Substances Act. The accused 1 and 2 were also convicted under Section 3(4) of POTA.[14]
Accused 4, namely Navjot Sandhu a.k.a. Afsan, was acquitted of all the charges except the one under Section 123 IPC for which she was convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and to pay a fine. Death sentences were imposed on the other three accused for the offences under Section 302 read with Section 120B IPC and Section 3(2) of POTA. They were also sentenced to life imprisonment on as many as eight counts under the provisions of IPC, POTA and Explosive Substances Act in addition to varying amounts of fine. The amount of a million Indian rupees, which was recovered from the possession of two of the accused, namely, Afzal Guru and Shaukat Hussain, was forfeited to the State under Section 6 of the POTA.[14]
On appeal, the high court subsequently acquitted S. A. R. Geelani and Afsan, but upheld Shaukat's and Afzal's death sentence. Geelani was represented by Ram Jethmalani in the Delhi High Court and subsequently in the Supreme Court of India.[15] Jethmalani said it almost cost him his political career for defending Geelani.[16] Geelani's acquittal blew a gaping hole in the prosecution's version of the parliament attack.[citation needed] He was presented as the mastermind of the entire attack.[citation needed] Geelani, a young lecturer at Delhi University, received support from his outraged colleagues and friends, who were certain that he had been framed.[citation needed] They contacted the well-known lawyer Nandita Haksar and asked her to take on his case.[citation needed]
Afzal Guru, sentenced to death by Indian court and due to be hanged on 20 October 2006, had his execution stayed. His family had camped in New Delhi to meet the
Shaukat Hussain was released nine months prior to his scheduled date of release on account of his good conduct.[21][22]
Two Delhi Police officials, ACP Rajbir Singh[23] and Mohan Chand Sharma are credited for gathering prima facie evidence in the case. Singh was later shot dead by a friend over a property deal[23] and Sharma was killed during the Batla House encounter with militants in Delhi.[24]
Response
The Indian Government initially accused Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed of involvement in the attack. However, Lashkar-e-Taiba denied any involvement in the incident.[2][3] In November 2002, four JeM members were arrested by Indian authorities and put on trial.[10] All four were found guilty of playing various roles in the incident, although the fourth, Afsan/Navjot Sandhu, wife of Shaukat Hussain (one of the accused) was found guilty of a minor charge of concealing knowledge of conspiracy.[25] One of the accused, Afzal Guru, was sentenced to death for the incident.[12]
World leaders and leaders in India's
The same day, in a
In popular culture
See also
- List of Islamist terrorist attacks
- List of terrorist incidents in India
- List of attacks on legislatures
- Islamic terrorism
- Pakistan and state terrorism
- 2001 Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly car bombing
- 2014 shootings at Parliament Hill, a similar attack that occurred in Ottawa, Canada
- 2017 Tehran attacks, which included an attack on the Iranian Parliament by gunmen and suicide bombers.
- 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
- 2023 Indian Parliament breach
References
- ^ a b "Mastermind killed". China Daily. 31 August 2003. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ^ a b c "Govt blames LeT for Parliament attack". Rediff.com. 14 December 2001. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Terrorist Attack on the Parliament of India". Embassy of India – Washington DC. 18 December 2001. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ "The terrorists had the home ministry and special Parliament label". Rediff.com India. 13 December 2001.
- ^ "Terrorists attack Parliament; five intruders, six cops killed". Rediff.com. 13 December 2001.
- ^ a b c "2001: Suicide attack on Indian parliament". BBC News. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ The Tribune. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ PTI (13 December 2011). "Parliament attack victims remembered". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ "PM Modi pays homage to the 2001 Parliament attack martyrs: Key points about the heinous attack". India.com. Penske Media Corporation. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
The names of the terrorists given by Delhi Police were Hamza, Haider alias Tufail, Rana, Ranvijay and Mohammed.
- ^ a b Kaur, Naunidhi (21 December 2002). "Conviction in Parliament attack case". Frontline. Vol. 19, no. 23. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4088-5878-3.
- ^ a b "4 convicted in attack". The Hindu. 17 December 2002. Archived from the original on 4 April 2003. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ^ "Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, ex-DU professor acquitted by SC in 2001 Parliament attack case, dies of cardiac arrest in Delhi". Firstpost. Press Trust of India. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ a b State ( N.C.T. of Delhi ) vs. Navjot Sandhu alias Afsan (Supreme Court of India 8 August 2005).
- ^ "Ram Jethmalani: A look at his most famous cases". Hindustan Times. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ Mahapatra, Dhananjay (23 November 2011). "Defending Geelani almost cost me my political career: Jethmalani". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ Vinay, Kumar (30 April 2007). "Kalam: law will take its course in Afzal case". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 March 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Gupta, Smita (13 February 2016). "The role of Pranab Mukherjee in Afzal Guru's hanging". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
Though Afzal Guru's mercy petition file came to Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 4, 2011 (when Ms. Patil was in office), Mr. Mukherjee, after taking charge, sent the file back on November 15, 2012 to the Home Ministry for a fresh look. The Home Ministry returned the file to the President on January 23 this year, and he sent it back, rejecting the petition, on February 3, paving the way for Saturday's execution.
- ^ Roy, Rajesh. "Indian Parliament Attack Planner Hanged".
- ^ Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar (13 June 2016). "In Tihar, officials feel 'tinge of sorrow'". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
Thereafter Afzal's body was taken down from the gallows and buried with full religious rites near Jail No. 3, right next to the grave of Kashmiri separatist Maqbool Butt who too was hanged in Tihar.
- ^ "All you need to know about the 2001 Parliament attack". Firstpost. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ Roy, Arundhati (15 December 2006). "India's Shame". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Encounter specialist killed by his own gun". The Hindu. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ State vs Mohd. Afzal And Ors. (Delhi High Court 29 October 2003), Text.
- ^ Mody, Anjali (30 October 2003). "Geelani, Afsan Guru acquitted in Parliament attack case". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
Ms. Guru (formerly Ms. Navjot Sandhu) had been sentenced to five-years rigorous imprisonment on the lesser charge of concealing knowledge of the conspiracy.
[dead link] - ^ "Parliament attack: Advani points towards neighbouring country". Rediff.com. 14 December 2001.
- ^ "Parl attacks proved terrorism biggest threat to democracy: Advani". Firstpost. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
Home Minister LK Advani made an indirect reference to Pakistan, saying that "clues" following the attack showed that "a neighbouring country, and some terrorist organisations active there behind" the attack.