Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Two days after Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged in the Tihar jail, his family on Monday received an official letter informing it about his execution.
According to reports, the letter dispatched by the Superintendent of Tihar Jail was delivered to Guru’s family this morning.
The letter reached postal authorities here on Saturday evening, several hours after Guru was executed.
According to the family, the letter was addressed to Guru’s wife Tabasum, who had filed the mercy plea for her husband.
The letter had the address of Guru`s ancestral village.
"We got the letter early morning today. Though we refused to accept it initially some of our relatives prevailed on us to see the contents," said Aijaz Guru, Afzal`s elder brother. "What is the need of getting the letter delivered when the execution has happened three days back," he added.
Senior postal officials in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir`s summer capital, said the speed post was received Saturday evening - Afzal Guru was executed at 8 am on Saturday - but delivered on Monday as Sunday was a public holiday.
"We received the speed post by air Saturday evening. It was addressed to Tabassum Guru (his wife). Sunday being a public holiday, the speed post has been delivered today," John Samuel, the chief post master general (Jammu and Kashmir), told journalists.
The letter reportedly said that their mercy plea has been rejected and Guru’s execution will happen on Saturday morning. The Parliament attack convict was hanged and buried in Tihar jail on February 09.
Although government had earlier claimed that Guru`s family was informed about the execution, the family had claimed otherwise.
Home Secretary RK Singh said on Saturday: "The family was informed earlier. I checked from the jail authorities and they informed me that two letters had been sent by speed post. The DGP Kashmir was asked to crosscheck too. It is not correct that the family was not informed."
The postman delivered the letter in spite of strict curfew and cordoning of the area around Guru`s house. The house for last two days has been out of bounds for even close neighbours.
The postman said that he had to park his car at a distance from our house but were allowed to walk from there, said Aijaz.
"Though government has been claiming that the letter was sent on February 06, the postal stamp from Delhi has February 08 written on it," Aijaz added.
The family said that letter getting delivered now was a `crude joke`.
"It’s like rubbing salt on our wounds," he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief minister Omar Abdullah has been highly critical of the Jail authorities for having used speed post for intimating Afzal`s family.
The family, meanwhile, is waiting for a positive response from the government to offer prayer (namaze-Janaza) and perform last rites at Afzal`s grave in Tihar jail.
(With Agency inputs)
