19 years of Parliament attack: Modi, Shah pay tribute to the martyrs
1 min read . Updated: 13 Dec 2020, 08:43 AM IST
Premium- Prime Minister Narendra Modi said we will never forget the cowardly attack on our Parliament
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote we salute the martyr who died protecting the parliament, the temple of democracy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter on early Sunday morning to pay tribute to those who lost their lives protecting the parliament this day exactly 19 years ago.
The prime minister wrote we will never forget the cowardly attack on our Parliament on this day in 2001.
He added, we recall the valour and sacrifice of those who lost their lives protecting our Parliament. India will always be thankful to them.
On 13 December 2001, a five-member suicide squad comprising Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists attacked the Indian Parliament, while the Lok Sabha was in session. The Houses were adjourned at the time of the attack, but several parliamentarians and staff were present inside the building.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted in Hindi, we salute the people who lost their lives to protect the Parliament, the temple of democracy.
Five security personnel of Delhi Police, one woman constable of the CRPF and two security assistants of Parliament Watch and Ward section had died preventing the entry of terrorists into Parliament House. A gardener and a photojournalist too lost their lives.
Although all five terrorists involved in the attack were killed during the gunfire with security personnel on December 13 itself, four persons were arrested and charged as masterminds within days. The case against the four - Mohammed Afzal Guru, Shaukat Hussain, Afsan Guru and SAR Geelani - went on for about a decade, with the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court eventually acquitting two, and upholding the death sentence of one.
