It has been seventeen years since India’s Parliament Complex was stormed by five militants on December 13, 2001. The Five heavily armed gunmen stormed the Parliament in New Delhi and opened indiscriminate fire, killing nine people instantly. The victims included five Delhi Police personnel, a woman Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper, two Parliament watch and ward staff and a gardener. A journalist who was injured died later. All five terrorists were also shot dead.
17 years later, the 2001 Parliament attack is not forgotten. Here are some facts everybody must know about the attack
* The terrorist entered the Parliament complex around 40 minutes after the Parliament was adjourned.
* While then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi had left, many MPs including Home Minister LK Advani and Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak were still inside. There were about 100 members of parliament in the building at the time.
* The gunmen breached the security around the parliamentary complex by using a fake identity sticker on the car they drove. The terrorists carried AK47 rifles, grenades and pistols with them.
* The 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.
* Two days after the attack, the Delhi police picked up Afzal Guru from Jammu and Kashmir for conspiring and sheltering the militants. He was later found guilty along with three others – SAR Geelani, Shaukat Hussain Guru and Afsan Guru.
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* Afsan Guru was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment plus fine. While other three accused were imposed death sentences.
* In 2005, Afzal Guru’s death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court but Shaukat Hussain Guru’s death sentence was commuted to 10 years of rigorous punishment
* A mercy petition of Afzal Guru was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee on February 3, 2013 and Afzal Guru was hanged in Tihar jail on February 9, 2013.
