NEW DELHI — Pakistani militant Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the only gunman caught alive during the 2008 guerrilla assault on India’s largest city, was hanged early Wednesday after his mercy plea was rejected, as the two nations bid to rebuild peace talks shattered by the attacks.
Days before the fourth anniversary of the three-day siege of India’s financial capital, authorities executed Kasab at Pune’s Yerwada Jail, Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil told reporters. President Pranab Mukherjee rejected Kasab’s mercy petition on Nov. 5, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said.
“This is a tribute to the police officers and people who lost their lives," Patil said. “The execution took place after all possible procedures had been exhausted."
Pakistani militants armed with assault weapons and grenades stormed two luxury hotels, Mumbai’s main railway station, a cafe and a Jewish center in a 60-hour rampage four years ago that killed 166 people. Kasab was sentenced to hang by a Mumbai court in 2010. The other nine militants were killed by Indian police. Kasab was found guilty of murder and waging war on India.