Soni Razdan Calls Afzal Guru ‘Scapegoat'; Demands Probe In His ‘Death Penalty’

Actor Soni Razdan, mother of Alia Bhatt and wife of Mahesh Bhatt, has caused controversy on Tuesday after she posted a tweet calling Afzal Guru, executed for his role in Parliament attack, a 'scapegoat' and demanded a probe into the death penalty awarded to him. Razdan's tweet comes at a time when Guru's role in the attack has come under scanner again after the arrest of Jammu and Kashmir police officer Davinder Singh.

Afzal Guru - who was convicted for his role in the attack on Indian parliament and hanged in 2013 - had written a letter to his lawyer days before his deat. In his letter, Guru had briefly touched upon how the Jammu and Kashmir police officer had tortured him. Guru had also claimed that Singh had made him give shelter and means to one of the attackers. Guru's claims were not investigated at that time and the police officer remained in service. Singh was recently arrested in Jammu and Kashmir in the company of two militants he was allegedly ferrying.

Razdan, who was last seen in a film No Fathers In Kashmir took to her social media account to highlight the need for 'solid enquiry' in the  Afzal Guru case. In her tweet she further expressed the need of investigation to see if ‘Afzal Guru was made the scapegoat’.

"This is a travesty of justice. Who is going to bring back a man from the dead if he is innocent. This is why the death penalty is not to be used lightly. And this is why there also needs to be a solid enquiry into why Afzal Guru was made the scapegoat” said her tweet. Razdan also shared a news article based on Guru's claims on deputy superintendent Davinder Singh.

This is a travesty of justice. Who is going to bring back a man from the dead if he is innocent. This is why the death penalty is not to be used lightly. And this is why there also needs to be a solid enquiry into why Afzal Guru was made the scapegoat https://t.co/UUVV2Z9UGU

— Soni Razdan (@Soni_Razdan) January 21, 2020

In another tweet she said, “There should also be an enquiry as to how people like Afzal are tortured and forced to carry out terrorist activities for criminals and then get the death penalty!”

'There Should be Inquiry into Why Davinder Singh Was Let off after Afzal... https://t.co/rEaEEdl1Aw via @YouTube There should also be an enquiry as to how people like Afzal are tortured and forced to carry out terrorist activities for criminals and then get the death penalty !

— Soni Razdan (@Soni_Razdan) January 21, 2020

After receiving backlash by a section of netizens for her post, mother to Bollywood A-lister actress Alia Bhatt clarified, "No one is saying he is innocent. But if he was tortured and then ordered by his torturer to do what he did isn’t that what needed to be fully investigated ? Why did no one take his allegations about Devinder Singh seriously. That’s the travesty."

No one is saying he is innocent. But if he was tortured and then ordered by his torturer to do what he did isn’t that what needed to be fully investigated ? Why did no one take his allegations about Devinder Singh seriously. That’s the travesty. https://t.co/PBRhz1gGBg

— Soni Razdan (@Soni_Razdan) January 21, 2020

No Fathers in Kashmir directed by Oscar Nominated Ashvin Kumar tells the story of a British-Kashmiri teenage girl who travels to the Himalayan state to search for her father, only to discover that he “disappeared” and was then killed after being taken away by soldiers for interrogation.