'Afzal's hanging is a true tribute to those who were killed'

The wait has been a long one but finally justice has been done, family members of security personnel killed in the Parliament attack tell Priyanka

The news of Afal Guru’s execution in Tihar jail has brought a sense of closure to the families of the security personnel who were killed in the attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001.

Some of them believe that they have received nyay (justice) in the true sense today.

A constable with the Centre Reserve Police Force, Kamlesh Kumari, was shot by terrorists that day when she had tried to raise an alarm about their presence. She managed to inform her superiors about the five terrorists who had breached the Parliament premises using her wireless set, but succumbed to her injuries later.

Furious at the delay in Guru's hanging, her family had refused to accept the Ashok Chakra that was awarded to her posthumously.

Today, Kamlesh’s family believes that justice has been delivered.

“We are very happy and relieved today,” says Kamlesh's husband Avdesh.

“We have been very angry all this time because Guru was not being hanged despite the court sentencing him to death,” he said.

The family, which lives in Sikanderpur in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj district, traveled to the capital often to press for the execution of Guru.

During the long wait, Kamlesh’s family members often felt that Guru may never be hanged.

 “The case was being dragged on for so long,” says Avdesh, adding that it often frustrated the family members.

“For us, the hanging of Guru is nyay (justice),” he says.

Kamlesh left behind two young daughters. Today, the elder one is studying in college while the younger one is in class 8.

“My younger daughter, Shweta, was only eight months old when Kamlesh died. After she was old enough to understand what happened to her mother, she insisted that we take her along when we went to Delhi to press for our demand for Guru's execution,” he said. 

 “Yeh Kamlesh aur baki sab ko sacchi shradhanjali hai (this is a true tribute to Kamlesh and the others who lost their lives in the terror attack),” he says.

The family and the entire mohalla (locality) have been celebrating Guru’s hanging by distributing sweets and bursting firecrackers.

Bijendra Singh, a head constable with the Delhi police, had suffered numerous bullet injuries during the attack.  He died in a hospital six days later. His wife Jayavati raised their four young children on her own. She has married off her three daughters while her son, Vipin, is a BCom student.

“The execution of Afzal is a true tribute to my father and others who were killed in the attack on Parliament,” said Vipin.

He admitted that the waiting period often took an emotional toll on the family.

“We just wish that this had been done a long time ago to send out a message to the terrorists,” he added.

“The government should have taken this action long ago so that everybody knows that no terrorist is forgiven,” said Vipin.