Saturday, February 19 2005 12:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Amritsar: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who visited the historic Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on Thursday (Feb 17, 2005), felt sorry for the incident saying he was ashamed at what happened on April 13, 1919 when hundreds of innocents were slaughtered by the British Police.

Straw was visibly perturbed when he visited the place in Thursday, Secretary, Jallianwala Bagh, S K Mukherji told reporters in Amritsar.

Before leaving Jallianwala Bagh, the British Foreign Secretary wrote in the visitor's book: "This was a terrible occasion in which so many innocent Indians were slaughtered, for which I feel ashamed and I feel sorrow."

Mukherji said Straw spent about 25 minutes at the Bagh visiting the photo gallery.

He said Straw's eyes turned moist when he saw pictures depicting killings of innocent men, women and children.

The British Foreign Secretary was overwhelmed with emotions, Mukherji said.