The bodies of nine Pakistani perpetrators of the brazen 26/11 attacks were "secretly" buried in January, the Maharashtra government revealed on Tuesday .
"Bodies of nine terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008 have been disposed of in January this year," Home Minister R R Patil informed the Legislative Council.
The unclaimed bodies had been lying in the J J Hospital morgue since the attacks that claimed 166 lives. Pakistan has also been denying that the terrorists belong to that country. Patil, however, did not mention the place where the bodies were buried, apparently due to security reasons.
The Maharashtra government had sought mandatory permission of the Centre to dispose of the bodies as several international agencies were involved in the investigation. Muslim organisations in Mumbai had announced that cemeteries where unclaimed bodies were usually buried will not open their doors for the terrorists, who they described as not the true followers of Islam. "The matter (of disposal of bodies) was deliberately kept a secret from media and other people," Patil said, adding "now the only question that remains is of the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab."
Patil's disclosure came during his reply to a discussion on the law-and-order situation in the state. The bodies of Nazir, Babar Imran alias Abu Aksa, Abu Ali, Abu Soheb, Bada Abdul Rehman, Abu Umar, Fahadullah, Abdul Rehman Chhota and Abu Ismael were embalmed at kept at the J J Hospital morgue under round-the-clock vigil. The room was sealed and temperature set at 4 degrees to prevent decomposition.
Several organisations had even advocated throwing the bodies into the Arabian Sea. Patil also assailed Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for his statement that Islamabad cannot guarantee that another 26/11-type terror attack will not take place in India. "If terrorists come here from Pakistan with money and weapons, we will not allow them to go back and bury them in the state," Patil said. PTI
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