"There should have been decency about (today's) hanging," said Rajinder Sachar, former chief justice of Delhi High Court. "He was not like Kasab. He was an Indian."
Protocol had not been followed, said Delhi University lecturer S.A.R. Geelani, who was arrested in the case but acquitted by the Supreme Court in October 2003.
"I woke her (Afzal Guru's wife) up this morning around 6.30-6.45 and informed her about rumours of the hanging. It was a shock to her. She was completely unaware and told me that none of the family members had been informed," Geelani told IANS.
Afzal Guru's cousin Yaseen Guru also told IANS they were not told in advance about the hanging or about the president rejecting his mercy plea.