‘We had to protect Kasab from within the police dept.’

Mumbai police authorities had to protect Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab not only from an angry public, but also from within the police department, Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Rakesh Maria said on Monday.

Mr. Maria, who was Joint Commissioner (Crime) at the time of the Mumbai terror attacks, supervised the investigation, as well as security measures for the 26/11 trial.

“There was a lot of public anger... the department had lost some of the best officers (during the attack), so we had to protect Kasab from within the department because there was anger in department also,” Mr. Maria said.

The special court here is expected to declare the verdict in the 26/11 trial on Monday.