Seven members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which was responsible for the Sarin attack in Tokyo in the year 1995 have been executed. The attack had left more than a dozen of people dead and over 6,000 injured. Shoko Asahara, the leader of the cult has been executed 23 years later. He was in prison for the last 22 years. The order for his execution had come in the year 2006 but the trial for the co-conspirators took more than a decade.

Shoko Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto was 63-years old and heading the Aum Shinrikyo cult. The Japanese doomsday cult group founded in the year 1984, was an organisation capable of developing chemical and biological weapons in just one decade. The entire investigation of the Sarin gas attack took about 20 years. All the members were convicted and had appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court rejected their appeals in January this year.

Along with the leader, the other executions were of Tomomasa Nakagawa, Tomomitsu Niimi, Kiyohide Hayakawa, Yoshihiro Inoue, Seiichi Endo and Masami Tsuchiya, according to Japanese Justice Minister Yoko Kawakami. Along with these, there are 6 other members from the cult that have to be executed but the exact date of their execution is still not known. The execution has come in as a sudden decision. Other than being the plotters of sarin gas attack, Shoko Asahara and his followers were also accused of several other murders.

What is Tokyo Sarin Gas Attack? 

Aum Shinrikyo cult members released the sarin gas, a deadly gas on the subway in Japanese capital, Tokyo on March 20, 1995. They had kept leaking bags of the liquid nerve agent on the trains passing through Tokyo. Soon there were stinging fumes from the toxic gas, leaving people choking within seconds. The gas also caused vomiting, left some blinded and paralysed. 13 people were dead in this attack. Some people were left lying on the floor, not realising they were exposed to the deadly sarin. The attack had injured close to 6,000 people.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2018 11:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).