Qasab hanged in Pune jail; buried in jail premises itself

Ajmal Amir Qasab, the lone surviving Pakistani terrorist responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, was hanged at Pune's Yerawada Jail today morning, Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil said.

"All the legal procedures in the 26/11 terror attacks case were completed. He was sentenced by the trial court, which was upheld by the Bombay High Court, Supreme Court, and his mercy plea was rejected by the president. Accordingly, Qasab has been hanged this morning at 7.30 am in Yerawada Central Jail," Patil told mediapersons.

Qasab's mercy petition was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday night. Shortly thereafter, in the dead of the night, Qasab was shifted amid top secrecy and tight security to Pune's high-security Yerawada jail.

This morning, at 7.30 am, he was hanged in the jail premises after which a team of doctors declared him dead.

"The punishment to Qasab is a true tribute to the victims and martyrs of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks," Patil said.

"Yes, Qasab has been hanged this (Wednesday) morning at 7.30 am in Yerawada Central Jail," Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who led the 26/11 terror attacks case, said.

Buried in jail premises

He was buried inside the premises of the jail shortly after he was hanged, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said. Qasab did not leave behind any will, he added.

In January 2010, nine of Qasab's associates, who had sneaked into Mumbai on the night of Nov 26, 2008, to unleash three days of terror, were quietly buried at an undisclosed location near Mumbai.

Qasab's end came just five days before the fourth anniversary of the brutal terror attacks that killed 166 lives and injured 300.u00a0