On Afzal Guru’s last moments

‘With regret, I have to tell you that today is your hanging,’ the superintendent informed him. 

‘I know, I figured.’ 

We sat down with him and asked if he wanted tea. As we sipped it slowly, Afzal spoke calmly about his case. He told us he was not a terrorist, and that he was not even a wanted person. All he wanted, he said, was to fight against corruption but ‘who listens in India?’ 

***

And then he started singing a song from the 1960s movie Badal, ‘Apney liye jiye toh kya jiye, tu ji ae dil zamane ke liye.’

***

There was no fear in his voice. There was just something about the way Afzal sang it, that I could not help myself. I sang along with him until he stopped and asked for some more tea. Unfortunately, the man who serves tea in prison had already left so this wish of his remained unfulfilled.

***

As the prison authorities led him into the phansi kothi, my colleagues who had been practicing all night were ready to carry out the act. When Afzal was ready, the staff member who pulled the lever looked towards the superintendent and he nodded as per rules contained in the jail manual. Two hours later, after doctors certified his time of death, Afzal was buried according to Muslim rites right next to where Maqbool Butt had been buried 30 years ago. 

***

When I went home that day I threw out a rule I had always followed. I could not keep the day’s proceedings to myself and told my family all that happened. They had only heard Afzal’s name in the media, and did not know that we had been preparing for his hanging and I would be present at his execution. As I told them about Afzal’s final hours, perhaps the only hanging that I really shared with them, we all cried together. I told them about my role, about the song he sang, and the note he left behind. This was the first time I broke down and cried. I think about Afzal a lot and must have heard that song on YouTube endlessly. I know that anyone who refers to him is called an ‘anti-national’ but I think he was a good man who wanted to work with the NGO People’s Union for Civil Liberties. All he wanted was to serve humanity and for his people to live peacefully.

On Manu Sharma’s influence

In April 2010, the Supreme Court upheld the high court’s decision ensuring that Manu Sharma and Vikas Yadav were sent to prison for a very long time. One of the first things their family did was to buy the Hilton Hotel only four kilometres from Tihar. They later renamed the hotel Piccadily and this proved to be highly beneficial for the Sharma family – not only did Manu have access to comfort but the quid pro quo system also became visible for jail staffers. 

***

Starting 2006, the superintendent, deputy superintendent and many others in Tihar became part of the “Sharma payroll”. So much so that it was Manu who was considered the superintendent of Jail Number 2. After 2010, his sphere of influence increased and he even secured jobs for their families at the hotel. A TV crew found that Neeraj Sharma, the son of PC Sharma, the additional superintendent of Tihar, had been working at the hotel in 2011 – he had also worked in the Sharma’s original parent company. If I was to do a conservative estimate, it would be fair to say that Manu got jobs for at least 50 relatives of jail staffers at the hotel. If the hotel could not use their services because they were overqualified, they would be accommodated at his brother Kartikeya’s media company, News X. What’s more, if a jail staff member had a wedding in the family, Manu’s hotel was open to them. If food had to be ordered it would come from the hotel. I clearly remember Manu sitting with Director General Alok Verma and Inspector General Mukesh Prasad in their room and ordering food from there. He literally had the entire jail hierarchy eating out of his hands. 

***

Manu Sharma was very well behaved and when his name came up for recommendation for furlough, I supported it.

***

If for three years, you follow all the jail rules, you get an annual holiday of seven weeks, broken up in three instalments, one of three weeks and two of two weeks each. But Manu’s popularity did not win him any favours with the director general at the time, Neeraj Kumar, who would always deny his furlough applications. 

***

Shortly after I retired, Manu Sharma qualified for this open jail privilege. I am told every morning he would leave for his family firm’s head office in Nehru Place, New Delhi, and spend the day there. His brother, who runs news channel News X, also sits in that office and I’m told Manu helps out in the business now. 

Excerpted with permission from Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailor by Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury; Roli Books.

Abhinandan Sekhri sat down with Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury to talk about their book. Subscribe to Newslaundry to watch the interview.