Key points:
- Sunday 13 December will mark 19 years since the devastating attack by Pakistan-linked terrorist groups targeting Parliament.
- The gunmen, armed with grenades as well as AK-47s, then came down and opened fire.
- These two organizations derive their funding and patronage through Pak ISI.’
- Four people were arrested within days as well as charged as the masterminds of the attack.
Sunday 13 December will mark 19 years since the devastating attack by Pakistan-linked terrorist groups targeting Parliament. LK Advani, leader of the Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who was then home minister, called the attack “the most audacious, as well as also the most alarming, terrorist act.”
A five-member suicide squad:
A five-member suicide squad comprised Lashkar-e-Taiba, as well as Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, struck Parliament House on this day in 2001 when the Lok Sabha had been in session: the houses were rescheduled at the time of the incident, but inside the building were many parliamentarians and staff.
The attackers in an Ambassador car:
The attackers arrived in an Ambassador car as well as, thanks to a forged government sticker, were able to gain entry.
However, one of the staff members became suspicious when the car moved inside the Parliament building. Thus the vehicle was forced to turn back and hit the vehicle of then Vice President Krishan Kant in the course.
The attack lasted for 30 minutes:
The gunmen, armed with grenades as well as AK-47s, then came down and opened fire. The attack continued for about 30 minutes, and outside of the building itself, all five attackers were neutralized.
However, five Delhi Police security personnel, one CRPF woman constable, and two Parliament Watch and Ward Section security assistants were killed, preventing terrorists from entering Parliament House.
A gardener, as well as a photojournalist, were also killed.
BJP leader L K Advani stated:
In the Lok Sabha, BJP leader L K Advani stated the attack was jointly executed by Pakistan-based and funded terrorist organizations, namely Lashkar-e-Taiba as well as Jaish-e-Mohammad.
It is understood that these two organizations derive their funding and patronage through Pak ISI.’
The four terrorists have been arrested:
Four people were arrested within days as well as charged as the masterminds of the attack. The case against the four – Shaukat Hussain, Afsan Guru, Mohammed Afzal Guru, and SAR Geelani – went on for about a decade, ultimately acquitting two of them by the Delhi High Court as well because the Supreme Court, and upholding one death penalty.
Afzal Guru was hanged in 2013:
Geelani, a professor at the University of Delhi, was convicted by the High Court of Delhi for ‘need of evidence’ in 2003, a judgment upheld by the Supreme Court in 2005. Afsan Guru was cleared of all charges as well, and Hussain spent time in prison. In 2013, Afzal Guru was hanged.
