New Delhi – Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, was hanged in an Indian prison on Nov. 21 according to Indian government sources.
The Pakistani national’s plea for mercy to Indian President Pranab Mukherjee was rejected earlier this month. He was hanged in Pune early on Wednesday, the Home Ministry said. Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil said Kaasab was hanged in the Yerawada prison at 07:30 Hrs IST local time (21:00 Hrs ET).
Kasab was one of the 10 Pakistani terrorists who sailed from their country and illegally sneaked into Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008 for a terror siege of the city that lasted for 60-hour ending on November 29 afternoon. The mayhem that Kasab and his nine accomplices unleashed on the city claimed 166 innocent lives including six American citizens. Nine other gunmen were also killed.
Kasab and an accomplice carried out the assault on the main railway station, killing 52 people. He was convicted of murder and other crimes in May 2010. The Supreme Court upheld his death sentence in August.
The LeT terrorist was reportedly shifted from Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail to Pune’s Yerawada Jail on Monday.
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the head of the staunchly anti-Indian LeT militant group, which Delhi holds responsible for the Nov. 26 attacks and others including Hafiz Saeed, the founder of LeT are yet to face justice in Pakistan.