He should have been hanged: survivors

Survivors and families of those who died in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai reacted with dismay and resignation at the news of the punishment for terror mastermind David Headley, who got a 35-year prison term from a Chicago court on Thursday. Bhavya Dore and Mugdha Variyar reports.

Survivors and families of those who died in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai reacted with dismay and resignation at the news of the punishment for terror mastermind David Headley, who got a 35-year prison term from a Chicago court on Thursday.

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"Every one involved in the attacks deserves the death sentence, and since Headley was the mastermind behind the attacks, he should be hanged," said Sarika Upadhyay, 36, who was injured at the Leopold Cafe. "No government should waste money on keeping such terrorists in prison for 35 years."

Many expressed anguish at the sentence and equated Headley with Ajmal Kasab, the sole gunman captured and was hanged in November last year for carrying out the attacks, in which 166 people lost their lives.

"Headley was the main culprit who sowed the seeds of the attack and is just as guilty as Ajmal Kasab for the deaths of so many people," said Karuna Waghela, 35, who lost her husband in the attacks. "We will get justice only when he is brought to the country and hanged."

Others said he should have been put behind bars for a longer period.

"Such people should be punished until the end of their lives," said Kalpana Shah, whose husband died when the attack reached the Oberoi hotel. "These people can't change."