NEW DELHI - An Indian court fixed October 20 as the date for executing a Muslim man convicted for his role in the 2001 militant attack on IndiaÂ’s parliament. Mohammed Afzal, an Indian national, had been sentenced to death by a lower court for his role in the conspiracy and the conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court last year.On Tuesday, a city court fixed 6 a.m. on Oct. 20 as the day and time for his execution in a Delhi jail. Executions are carried out in India by hanging.
Five gunmen stormed the heavily-guarded Indian parliament complex on Dec. 13, 2001 but were killed by the security forces before they could enter the building where lawmakers sit. The attack, blamed by India on Pakistan but denied by Islamabad, brought the nuclear-armed rivals dangerously close to their fourth war.