Request for Afzal’s body sent to Centre

Anxious to contain the adverse political fall-out of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s hanging, the Omar Abdullah government has forwarded Guru’s family’s demand for his body to New Delhi. Toufiq Rashid and Aurangzeb Naqshbandi report.

Anxious to contain the adverse political fall-out of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s hanging, the Omar Abdullah government has forwarded Guru’s family’s demand for his body to New Delhi.

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The state will follow it up with a formal request to allow the family to offer prayers at Guru’s grave in Tihar jail.

The formal request on behalf of the state government is expected to be discussed at the National Conference-Congress meeting on Friday.

“A letter will be handed to the home ministry, possibly tomorrow,” said a government official. Earlier Guru’s family had refused to offer prayers at his grave in Tihar.

Sources said the state’s request was aimed at demonstrating that it was making all possible efforts to defuse the situation in the Valley.

Abdullah said the state has forwarded the family’s request for the body to the Centre on his instructions.