ALLAHABAD: As the country marked the first anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, hundreds of people in Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad district turned up at the bank of the Ganga Thursday to witness the "hanging" of terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab.
While Kasab waits for the judgement in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, artist Raj Kapoor prepared a sand sculpture of Kasab with a noose around his neck, projecting the terrorist at the gallows.
"I made the sculpture just to project the hatred of Indian citizens against Kasab, who along with his associates unleashed terror last year," Kapoor told reporters in the city, some 200 km from the state capital.
"Through the sculpture, I have tried to convey the feelings of the citizens of India who want Kasab should face death penalty," he added.
Shouting slogans like "Hang Kasab", "Jaisa mara waise maro (kill him the way he killed others)", people vented their anger against the sole surviving terrorist from the group of ten sent by the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to attack Mumbai.
Kapoor also sculpted images of the three senior policemen killed in the Mumbai terror attack - Hemant Karkare, Shashank Shinde and Ashok Kamte.
A number of people performed rituals as per Vedic traditions along the banks of the Ganga for the peace of the departed souls.
"We believe our prayers to give strength and support to the martyrs' family members will be listened to by God as they have been performed at this sacred land where there is a confluence of three holy rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati," said Satti Prasad, a priest.