In the special security jail number 3, along with Mr. Guru, the Naxalite-leader, Khobad Gandhy was also imprisoned. From sitting over a cup of tea daily, Mr. Shah\u2019s relation with the duo deepened.<\/p>\n
Talking to\u00a0The Kashmir Walla,\u00a0<\/i>Mr. Shah narrated the entire sequence of events \u2014 the anxious prisoners, a strangely calm\u00a0convict<\/i>, the chaos in Tihar \u2014 and final moments before Afzal Guru was hanged on 9 February 2013.<\/p>\n
Shifting and Suspicion<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
As per schedule, the cell doors opened at 6 am, and Mr. Shah, alongside Afzal Guru, Mr. Gandhy and other block-mates gathered in the corridor. \u201cIt (corridor) was only one and a half footstep wide. That was all,\u201d said Mr. Shah.<\/p>\n
Following the timetable, the gates were closed at 11:30 am, and then opened again at 3 pm, only to be closed at 6 pm.<\/p>\n
The cell was 12\u00d78; had a\u00a0dari<\/i>\u00a0(rug), a commode in a corner, and a water tap.<\/p>\n
By the evening, \u201cDeputy Superintendent came out of the blue and asked us to shift to Block B, citing the renovation of Block A,\u201d said Mr. Shah. The new block was behind the high walls of Block A, from where one could overhear another block, but cannot see through. It was only from earlier Block A that they could slightly peek into the compound, set for the gallows.<\/p>\n
Unlike Block-A, which had a high-fenced ground to see through lives, Block B seemed unfamiliar. \u201cWe requested to shift us back because settling down was a struggle,\u201d in reply to which Mr. Shah was asked to compromise for a couple of days.<\/p>\n
By next day, now shifted to Block B, the mates had some food around 11 am and feeling exhausted after shifting, \u201cWe asked the administration to keep the cells open for the day,\u201d and went to sleep around 2 pm.<\/p>\n
Craftsman, electricians, and every person involved in renovation started flowing in throughout the day, and \u201csomething strange was happening,\u201d he said, and the entire block grew suspicious.<\/p>\n
Naxalite-ideologue, Mr. Gandhy resided in cell number-4, called Mr. Shah in the afternoon and said, \u201cRafiq, something is happening in the\u00a0faansi kothi (gallows)<\/i>,\u201d whose compound was right at the neck of the entrance of Block A, though the walls were high of \u2018deadmens\u2019 place\u2019, one cannot see through it. The duo made the calculations that it might be Khalistan-separatist, Devindar Pal Singh Bhullar, convicted in 1993 Delhi bomb-blast case, as he was also on death row. Sensing the dilemma, Mr. Shah told Mr. Ghandy, \u201cIt can\u2019t be Afzal Sb, President is yet to review his mercy petition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shying away to discuss the same with Afzal Guru, Mr. Shah claims that none of them discussed it with him, \u201cOtherwise he would have started feeling restless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though, the suspicion only grew stronger; around 3 pm on 8 February, Mr. Shah had a family meeting, and \u2018unusually\u2019, Assistant Superintendent of police came to take him, \u201cin normal circumstances, a constable or prisoner would have come.\u201d<\/p>\n
On his way to the meeting area, standing at the edge of entrances to the blocks in the corridor, he stole a glance at the\u00a0faansi kothi<\/i>. \u201cI saw the welding going on in there. Watching me, the police official resisted asking me to move faster, but I said, \u2018Wait, I\u2019m just watching\u2019,\u201d said Mr. Shah. Explaining the nature of the work, he told that he saw one person was cementing the wall, while another painting right over it. \u201cThey were in hurry for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
After an anxious meet with the family, on his way back to the cell, he spotted a prisoner standing with a lever in his hand. Out of curiosity, Mr. Shah enquired and the counter-part responded, \u201cYes, something is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cGet ready, preparations are going on for you.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. Shah\u2019s family had brought some home-cooked food,<\/i>\u00a0but him being in a hurry to see Afzal Guru, he handed it over to one of the Bangladesh based block-mate and went to cell number 1.<\/p>\n Draped in a blanket,\u00a0<\/i>\u2018Peer Sb.\u2019, as Mr. Shah calls Afzal Guru, was sitting with his back towards the door.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>Peer Sb. asked me, \u2018You went outside for the meeting, right? You saw something?\u2019<\/p>\n I replied, playing with him, \u2018Yes, preparations (for execution) are going on for you.\u2019<\/p>\n He laughed and said, \u2018tell me seriously, what is going on there?\u2019<\/p>\n I said, \u2018Seriously? Get ready, preparations are going on for you.\u2019<\/p>\n He replied, \u201cAye! I am always ready. I\u2019m not afraid.\u2019\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Though Mr. Shah told him that he is uncertain about the information, but preparations are going on.<\/p>\n Afzal Guru told him, \u201cIt is for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Shah said, \u201cWhat made you think so? Don\u2019t think like that, maybe its Bhullar.\u201d<\/p>\n He replied, \u201cIt can\u2019t be Bhullar. Entire Punjab Government is behind him. It is me.\u201d<\/p>\n Soon, the words spread around, and panic made the air heavier. \u201cEveryone was thinking that it might be any one of us,\u201d said Mr. Shah.<\/p>\n Time passed, and Maghrib arrived. Revisiting one of the saddest moments of his life, Mr. Shah said, \u201cIt was the schedule; Peer Sb. would always give Maghrib\u2019s\u00a0azaan\u00a0<\/i>(call for evening prayers),\u201d and he stood behind Afzal Guru that evening, before they were to be put back into cells.<\/p>\n While the prayers went on \u2014 connecting the dots \u2014 Mr. Shah was sure by now that \u2018It was Peer Sb.\u2019s time\u2019. Crying throughout the prayer, anything Mr. Shah could process was, \u201cIt is his last azaan.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearing the clutter of thoughts from the mind, he dragged everyone to eat. He, along with Afzal Guru, and another Kashmir based prisoner, Javaid Ahmad Tantray, ate together in a plate. Defying all the media reports, he claimed that they, including Mr. Guru, ate well that night.<\/p>\n Mr. Shah\u2019s family had brought\u00a0paneer<\/em>,\u00a0<\/i>and the prisoners used to save the homemade food until its last drop of oil. Afzal Guru insisted his Kashmiri counter-part to save some for tomorrow. \u201cI resisted and served him more,\u201d swallowing the thought of losing Afzal Guru, and an intellect companion, Mr. Shah replied, \u201cLet\u2019s finish it today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI knew what lie ahead,\u201d said Mr. Shah.<\/p>\n While spreading the homemade food over the rice, taking a gasp, Afzal Guru said, \u201cI know, it is my time,\u201d and killing the silence, Mr. Shah replied, \u201cAye, don\u2019t worry! Focus on food, the family brought the paneer.\u201d<\/p>\n Afzal Guru had a habit of not wasting food. \u201cHe would always preserve leftovers and shower it next morning, through the fence, near the\u00a0shaheed\u00a0<\/i>(martyr) Maqbool Bhat\u2019s grave,\u201d said Mr. Shah.<\/p>\n The cells were locked.<\/p>\n Crawling through such flashes of memories \u2014 of tea, food, books, home \u2014 of Kashmir, Mr. Shah spent his entire night sleepless. The movement of vehicles and people from outside would deter these memories and remind him of everything\u00a0his Peer<\/i>\u00a0meant to him.<\/p>\n \u201cI realized, it was happening,\u201d recalled Mr. Shah.<\/p>\n \u201cDeath warrant came?\u201d \u2014 \u201cYes!\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Winters are generally hard in Tihar, but February 2013 was harder for Mr. Shah. Staring via the clutter of thoughts, he fell asleep around 4:30 am. At 5:50 am, he heard\u00a0azaan<\/i>\u00a0from his adjacent cell, by another cell-mate. \u201cIn winters, we used to offer\u00a0namaaz<\/i>\u00a0in corridors,\u201d said Mr. Shah, after reading\u00a0sunnat<\/i>, he stood to come out of the cell at 5:55 am. \u201cIt should have been open by that time, but no one was around to unlock it.\u201d<\/p>\n He called the police personnel posted on the nearest tower, and asked him to open the cell. Expecting a reply, like always, that \u2018wait constable is coming\u2019, \u201cno one replied that day.\u201d<\/p>\n Going anxious, Mr. Shah started jolting the gate. \u201cHearing me shouting, Afzal Sb. also started jolting his gate.\u201d<\/p>\n Suddenly, one of the cells, \u2018maybe number 2\u2019, shouted, \u201cThey came!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrisking to happen,\u201d followed it.<\/p>\n \u201cThey took Afzal Sb.\u201d<\/p>\n They took Afzal Sb.\u00a0<\/i>\u2014 though Mr. Shah prepared himself the entire night to hear this simple set of words, but, when it stood right in front of his barred cell \u2014 \u00a0he couldn\u2019t stand to it and broke down \u2014 going through what the name, Afzal Guru, meant to him, and to his Kashmir \u2014 he couldn\u2019t resist but shouted pro-freedom slogans on the top of his throat.<\/p>\n An officer had come to open the cell, and while taking out the prisoner from cell number 1 of Block B in jail number 3, Afzal Guru asked him, \u201cDeath warrant came?\u201d The official had replied, \u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n Wearing a Kashmiri\u00a0pheran<\/i>\u00a0and Afghani topi on the head, Afzal Guru was taken back to\u00a0his\u00a0<\/i>cell number 1, Block A, via the adjacent corridor.<\/p>\n \u201cI kept shouting till my throat dried,\u201d said Mr. Shah. \u201cThough he (Afzal Guru) didn\u2019t reply, I wanted to keep his morale high.\u201d<\/p>\n Portraying Mr. Gandhy by his own understanding as most well-read, and sophisticated ideologue, Mr. Shah claimed that he heard foul language for the first time from his mouth; \u201cKutto! Ek aadmi ko le gaye aur bas maar diya?<\/i>\u201d (Dogs! You just took a person and killed him like nothing.)<\/p>\n In the parallel world, while the Block-B was mourning, Afzal Guru started his\u00a0wuzu\u00a0<\/i>and offered\u00a0namaaz<\/i>. As per Mr. Shah, from 6 am to 8 am, Afzal Guru had a long conversation on Islam, and other things with Sunil Gupta,\u00a0<\/b>the appointed law officer.<\/p>\n This is the time by when back in Kashmir, curfew had already been imposed, streets were deserted, manned by government forces. People had heard that Afzal Guru was hanged. The word had spread across the Valley and only the anger was growing.<\/p>\n As Mr. Shah got to know later by his jail sources, Afzal Guru, as per regulations, was asked to present his last demand.<\/p>\n He asked calmly, \u201cNo one is going to stop you from doing this (execution), can you fulfill my last wish?\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Let me talk to my family\u2019.\u00a0Refused<\/i>.<\/p>\n \u2018Let Rafiq sit here with me\u2019.\u00a0Refused<\/i>.<\/p>\n \u2018Let me write a letter.\u2019\u00a0Agreed<\/i>.<\/p>\n Before he was taken for execution, he had a cup of tea. The institutionalized jail administration preferred to see the hanging man in the designated execution attire over his cultural symbol \u2014 a Kashmiri\u00a0pheran<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 but, as per Mr. Shah, Afzal Guru maintained that \u201cI will not change my slippers\u201d. The constables accompanied Afzal Guru in\u00a0his last walk<\/i>\u00a0said that \u201cthey had never seen such a brave man.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"afzal](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/wp002.global.temp.domains\/~thekashm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DSC_0238-536x357.jpg?resize=536%2C357\")
![\"afzal](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/wp002.global.temp.domains\/~thekashm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DSC_0211-536x357.jpg?resize=536%2C357\")