Afzal's hanging was code-named Op 3 Star

Operation 3-star was the codename given to 43-year-old Afzal Guru's execution by the government. The weeklong covert operation had a clear brief - if Pranab Mukherjee was to reject Guru's mercy petition then he would be hanged within a week of the decision. Abhishek Sharan reports.

Operation 3-star was the codename given to 43-year-old Afzal Guru's execution by the government.

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The weeklong covert operation had a clear brief - if Pranab Mukherjee was to reject Afzal Guru's mercy petition then he would be hanged within a week of the decision.

Only some top officials knew that Guru will be hanged on February 9 at 8 am, including the home minister, the home secretary, Delhi's Lieutenant Governor and Tihar jail's Director General.

"Officials associated with Operation Three Star took a decision to bury Guru at an unmarked spot in a compound of sub-jail three of Tihar prison, instead of returning the body to his family, to avoid any possibility of mischief-makers stoking passions afterwards," said the source. Minutes before he was hanged, Guru handed over a letter for his wife, Tabassum, to jail officials.

"Guru had expressed a wish to write a letter to his wife on the night of Friday---when he was informed about his hanging that was scheduled for the next morning. The letter was in Urdu and his final farewell to his wife and son, Ghalib," said the source. According to the source, the Tihar authorities sent the letter by post to his wife on Monday.