The death sentence awarded to Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman of the Mumbai terrorist attack, is a result of a fair and transparent judicial process of India, the US has said.
“This (trial of Kasab) was part of an Indian legal proceeding. Obviously, we have encouraged India and at times, in the aftermath, we have assisted India with the investigation, but this was the result of an Indian fair and transparent legal process,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley.
“We have extensive cooperation with India on counterterrorism and that will certainly continue,” Mr. Crowley said in response to a question at his daily press briefing yesterday.
Kasab, a Pakistani national, was awarded capital punishment on May 6 by a Mumbai special court. The court held him guilty of mass murder and waging war against India, by carrying out the terror strikes in November 2008.
Kasab’s death sentence has to be confirmed by the Mumbai High Court, where the matter would come up automatically. However, this is not the end of road of Kasab as he still has the option to appeal against the judgement before the High Court and subsequently the Supreme Court. He can also file a mercy petition before the President of India.
Showing posts with label mumbai terror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mumbai terror. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Kasab’s papers to come up before HC after three months
The exercise of forwarding case papers and judgement of 26/11 special court to the Bombay High Court for confirmation of death penalty imposed on terrorist Ajmal Kasab would take at least three months, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said.
The 1522-page judgement, proceedings of the year-long- trial, evidence tendered by witnesses and their statements on affidavits as well as the original copies of exhibits and documents tabled by prosecution would be compiled in a ‘paper book’ and sent to the High Court.
The ‘paper book’ in typed format would be forwarded by this month end and thereafter the High Court staff would get involved in printing its contents.
The entire exercise would take at least three months, Mr. Nikam told PTI.
Only after the ‘paper book’ is ready, the High Court would hear the matter and decide on confirmation of death sentence imposed on Kasab for killing 166 persons in Mumbai.
Kasab can also file an appeal in the High Court within 30 days of being held guilty by the court.
The government too can appeal against the acquittal of two co-accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed. In that event, the High Court would hear all matters simultaneously.
If the High Court confirms the death penalty then Kasab has a right to appeal in the Supreme Court. He can also approach the President with a mercy petition if the Apex court upholds the capital punishment.
The 1522-page judgement, proceedings of the year-long- trial, evidence tendered by witnesses and their statements on affidavits as well as the original copies of exhibits and documents tabled by prosecution would be compiled in a ‘paper book’ and sent to the High Court.
The ‘paper book’ in typed format would be forwarded by this month end and thereafter the High Court staff would get involved in printing its contents.
The entire exercise would take at least three months, Mr. Nikam told PTI.
Only after the ‘paper book’ is ready, the High Court would hear the matter and decide on confirmation of death sentence imposed on Kasab for killing 166 persons in Mumbai.
Kasab can also file an appeal in the High Court within 30 days of being held guilty by the court.
The government too can appeal against the acquittal of two co-accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed. In that event, the High Court would hear all matters simultaneously.
If the High Court confirms the death penalty then Kasab has a right to appeal in the Supreme Court. He can also approach the President with a mercy petition if the Apex court upholds the capital punishment.
Friday, May 7, 2010
People welcome verdict with firecrackers
Mumbai citizens burst firecrackers, distributed sweets and relived memories of the November 26, 2008 massacre as soon as they heard the order on Thursday of the Special Sessions Court sentencing Kasab to death by hanging. Crackers went off in South Mumbai in the predominantly Muslim areas of the city, and people carried placards welcoming the verdict. Various groups came out on the street with banners and posters, passing sweets around.
At Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), where Kasab and Abu Ismail wreaked havoc, crackers were burst to welcome the verdict. People queued up to pay homage at the memorial to victims. Right from 10-year-old Devika Rotawan, who was a witness, to Kavita Karkare, wife of the killed police officer Hemant Karkare, families of victims and survivors have been demanding death for Kasab for that night of horror which claimed 166 lives.
For Assistant Police Inspector Hemant Bowdhankar, this was the day he was waiting for ever since he helped in the capture of Kasab. Mr. Bowdhankar was part of the police team from D B Marg police station which stopped Kasab and Abu Ismail at Chowpatty as they drove up in a stolen silver Skoda on the night of November 26, and engaged them in a short gun battle.
The Mumbai police will always remember the sacrifice of policeman Tukaram Ombale who fell to Kasab's bullets that night. The death sentence has vindicated somewhat his sacrifice, feel the policemen. Mr. Bowdhankar told TheHindu: “I was expecting the maximum punishment for Kasab. Everyone did a good job of giving evidence and the truth was what made the difference. We all welcome this judgment.”
Another policeman, who was part of this team and who does not wish to be named, says that this is a judgment that should make all Indians proud. It was the result of teamwork of the Mumbai police, and the Indian judiciary showed the world how it could conduct a fair trial. This is a moment to feel proud of our judiciary as well, he said.
However, Ms. Karkare, while welcoming the death sentence, was disappointed that two persons were acquitted in this case. Kasab should not be given an opportunity to go to the Supreme Court and his sentence should be executed immediately, she added.
Vaishali Ombale, daughter of Tukaram Ombale, expressed fears that the punishment would be delayed. She, like many other families of victims, called for a speedy end to the whole thing.
“Fit punishment”
Vishnu Zende, the announcer at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) who repeatedly made announcements asking people to clear the station that night, was happy. “I saw what Kasab did that day at CST and this is a fit punishment. Nothing less would have done. We are all very happy to hear this verdict,” he said.
The government too welcomed the death sentence for Kasab. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and State Home Minister R.R. Patil praised the judiciary and Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, and said there must be no delay in executing Kasab's death sentence.
Mr. Chavan said the verdict reflected the public sentiment. The trial was fair and democratic and ended within a year. He complimented judge M.L. Tahaliyani and also senior police officials, Rakesh Maria, Deven Bharati and the Mumbai police for the way in which they handled this case.
Mr. Patil said India was a soft target for terrorists and this judgment should send a strong signal to the world that terrorism would not be tolerated. Considering the gravity of charges against Kasab, that of waging war against India and murder, it could be nothing less than the death sentence. Given the brutality of the attack, the punishment seemed less, he said.
Mr. Patil once again said that all those convicted who were in Pakistan must be brought to India and the world community must bring pressure on Pakistan to do so. Responding to newspaper reports that the State had no hangman, Mr. Patil said the government would find one.
He said the government would appeal to the Centre to fast track the legal procedure so that there was no delay in executing the sentence. In regard to the acquittal of the two Indians in the case, Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed, Mr. Patil said the government would file an appeal against it in the High Court.
At Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), where Kasab and Abu Ismail wreaked havoc, crackers were burst to welcome the verdict. People queued up to pay homage at the memorial to victims. Right from 10-year-old Devika Rotawan, who was a witness, to Kavita Karkare, wife of the killed police officer Hemant Karkare, families of victims and survivors have been demanding death for Kasab for that night of horror which claimed 166 lives.
For Assistant Police Inspector Hemant Bowdhankar, this was the day he was waiting for ever since he helped in the capture of Kasab. Mr. Bowdhankar was part of the police team from D B Marg police station which stopped Kasab and Abu Ismail at Chowpatty as they drove up in a stolen silver Skoda on the night of November 26, and engaged them in a short gun battle.
The Mumbai police will always remember the sacrifice of policeman Tukaram Ombale who fell to Kasab's bullets that night. The death sentence has vindicated somewhat his sacrifice, feel the policemen. Mr. Bowdhankar told TheHindu: “I was expecting the maximum punishment for Kasab. Everyone did a good job of giving evidence and the truth was what made the difference. We all welcome this judgment.”
Another policeman, who was part of this team and who does not wish to be named, says that this is a judgment that should make all Indians proud. It was the result of teamwork of the Mumbai police, and the Indian judiciary showed the world how it could conduct a fair trial. This is a moment to feel proud of our judiciary as well, he said.
However, Ms. Karkare, while welcoming the death sentence, was disappointed that two persons were acquitted in this case. Kasab should not be given an opportunity to go to the Supreme Court and his sentence should be executed immediately, she added.
Vaishali Ombale, daughter of Tukaram Ombale, expressed fears that the punishment would be delayed. She, like many other families of victims, called for a speedy end to the whole thing.
“Fit punishment”
Vishnu Zende, the announcer at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) who repeatedly made announcements asking people to clear the station that night, was happy. “I saw what Kasab did that day at CST and this is a fit punishment. Nothing less would have done. We are all very happy to hear this verdict,” he said.
The government too welcomed the death sentence for Kasab. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and State Home Minister R.R. Patil praised the judiciary and Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, and said there must be no delay in executing Kasab's death sentence.
Mr. Chavan said the verdict reflected the public sentiment. The trial was fair and democratic and ended within a year. He complimented judge M.L. Tahaliyani and also senior police officials, Rakesh Maria, Deven Bharati and the Mumbai police for the way in which they handled this case.
Mr. Patil said India was a soft target for terrorists and this judgment should send a strong signal to the world that terrorism would not be tolerated. Considering the gravity of charges against Kasab, that of waging war against India and murder, it could be nothing less than the death sentence. Given the brutality of the attack, the punishment seemed less, he said.
Mr. Patil once again said that all those convicted who were in Pakistan must be brought to India and the world community must bring pressure on Pakistan to do so. Responding to newspaper reports that the State had no hangman, Mr. Patil said the government would find one.
He said the government would appeal to the Centre to fast track the legal procedure so that there was no delay in executing the sentence. In regard to the acquittal of the two Indians in the case, Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed, Mr. Patil said the government would file an appeal against it in the High Court.
Kasab sentenced to death
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab “shall be hanged by neck till he is dead.”
Pronouncing these words, the Special Sessions Court here on Thursday sentenced to death the lone surviving gunman of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Kasab was given the death penalty on five counts: murder, abetment to murder, waging war, criminal conspiracy and committing terrorist acts.
He was also awarded life imprisonment on five counts: attempt to murder in furtherance of a common intention, kidnapping and abducting in order to murder, conspiracy to wage war, collecting arms with the intention of waging war and causing explosion thus endangering life and property.
‘Aapko char offences ke liye sazaye maut di jaati hai. [You have been sentenced to death for four offences],' Judge M.L. Tahaliyani told Kasab after he read out the order.
“You have been given the death penalty for murdering Indian citizens, police officers, conspiring with Lashkar leaders and committing terrorist acts. The court has said while giving the judgment that you shall be hanged unto death,” Mr. Tahaliyani told Kasab. While the sentence was being read out, Kasab sat still, his face sunk deep in the cup of his palm. He listlessly waved when asked by the court to give an opinion on his sentencing. Anxiety drew him to ask for water and he had to be taken out of court. “Shukriya saab [Thank you, sir],” was all the 26/11 convict could say on his way out of the courtroom.
The court wholly accepted the prosecution's arguments for awarding the death sentence, noting that the “aggravating circumstances” fully outweighed the “mitigating circumstances.” It found that the defence could not make out a case for the lesser punishment of life.
“In my opinion, the circumstances demand that death penalty be imposed in this case. The court has no option but to impose death sentence. This man has lost the right of getting humanitarian treatment,” the court observed.
The court also referred to the Kandahar hijack incident triggered by the presence of the accused in the custody of the Government of India. Mr. Tahaliyani noted, “By keeping such a person alive there would always be a danger hanging over the government. He is a constant danger. He is a menace to society. He has no right to live.”
The Indian Penal Code Sections under which Kasab has been given death penalty are: 302 (murder), 302 read with 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war), 302 read with 34 (common intention) and 302 read with 109 (abetment) read with 120 B.
In addition, he has been given death for the offence punishable under Section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. For the other offences, he was awarded rigorous imprisonment, simple imprisonment and imposed with fines.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told reporters that a confirmation of the death penalty from the Bombay High Court was awaited. Kasab would continue to be housed at the high security Arthur Road jail till further orders by the government.
Pronouncing these words, the Special Sessions Court here on Thursday sentenced to death the lone surviving gunman of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Kasab was given the death penalty on five counts: murder, abetment to murder, waging war, criminal conspiracy and committing terrorist acts.
He was also awarded life imprisonment on five counts: attempt to murder in furtherance of a common intention, kidnapping and abducting in order to murder, conspiracy to wage war, collecting arms with the intention of waging war and causing explosion thus endangering life and property.
‘Aapko char offences ke liye sazaye maut di jaati hai. [You have been sentenced to death for four offences],' Judge M.L. Tahaliyani told Kasab after he read out the order.
“You have been given the death penalty for murdering Indian citizens, police officers, conspiring with Lashkar leaders and committing terrorist acts. The court has said while giving the judgment that you shall be hanged unto death,” Mr. Tahaliyani told Kasab. While the sentence was being read out, Kasab sat still, his face sunk deep in the cup of his palm. He listlessly waved when asked by the court to give an opinion on his sentencing. Anxiety drew him to ask for water and he had to be taken out of court. “Shukriya saab [Thank you, sir],” was all the 26/11 convict could say on his way out of the courtroom.
The court wholly accepted the prosecution's arguments for awarding the death sentence, noting that the “aggravating circumstances” fully outweighed the “mitigating circumstances.” It found that the defence could not make out a case for the lesser punishment of life.
“In my opinion, the circumstances demand that death penalty be imposed in this case. The court has no option but to impose death sentence. This man has lost the right of getting humanitarian treatment,” the court observed.
The court also referred to the Kandahar hijack incident triggered by the presence of the accused in the custody of the Government of India. Mr. Tahaliyani noted, “By keeping such a person alive there would always be a danger hanging over the government. He is a constant danger. He is a menace to society. He has no right to live.”
The Indian Penal Code Sections under which Kasab has been given death penalty are: 302 (murder), 302 read with 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war), 302 read with 34 (common intention) and 302 read with 109 (abetment) read with 120 B.
In addition, he has been given death for the offence punishable under Section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. For the other offences, he was awarded rigorous imprisonment, simple imprisonment and imposed with fines.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told reporters that a confirmation of the death penalty from the Bombay High Court was awaited. Kasab would continue to be housed at the high security Arthur Road jail till further orders by the government.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Court to decide fate of Kasab, two Indians
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in and around the Arthur Road Central jail where a special court would on Monday decide the fate of Pakistani gunman Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab and two Indians for their alleged role in the 26/11 terror attacks.
“The prosecution has prepared a watertight case against all the three accused and we hope the verdict would be in our favour,” special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told PTI.
Kasab is facing the charge of killing 166 persons by indiscriminately firing and hurling hand grenades at various places on November 26, 2008.
Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, both Indians, are charged with drawing maps of targets and passing them on to Lashkar-e-Taiba to execute the diabolic terror attacks.
Among the places targeted by the terrorists were Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus, Nariman House, Cama Hospital, Hotel Taj Mahal, Hotel Oberoi-Trident and Metro junction. At some of these places, terrorists held siege for close to 60 hours before being killed by security forces in a pitched battle.
While Kasab was caught alive at Girgaum Chowpatty when he was trying to escape in a car, nine other gunmen were shot dead by police and security forces.
The three accused have been tried under the provisions of various acts including IPC, Bombay Police Act, Passport Act, Customs Act, Foreigners Act, Damage to Public Property Act, Railways Act, and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Defence lawyer K.P. Pawar said, “We have done our best to convince the court that Kasab is innocent and falsely implicated in the 26/11 terror attack case. Now it is for the court to decide.”
The Arthur Road jail has become a fortress with large number of police personnel posted at various vantage points on Sane Guruji Marg which has been made one way for the traffic movements.
Inside the jail, 200 Indo-Tibetan Border Security guards are providing security cover to Ajmal Kasab who held the city under siege with his associates at the behest of LeT for more than two days from November 26, 2008.
Kasab is lodged in a bullet and bomb proof cell which is covered by iron sheets from all sides. The court is also built with equally strong iron reinforcements to make it bullet and bomb proof.
The other two accused are lodged in separate cells elsewhere in the jail.
Special passes have been issued to media personnel, lawyers, court staff and family members of the accused for their entry into the court. There are at least three entry points where everyone is frisked thoroughly. Pens and cell phones have been prohibited inside the court.
The prosecution had filed a 11,000 page chargesheet against Kasab and two other accused and examined 658 witnesses during the one year-long trial described in legal circles as the fastest ever among the terror cases in India.
“The prosecution has prepared a watertight case against all the three accused and we hope the verdict would be in our favour,” special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told PTI.
Kasab is facing the charge of killing 166 persons by indiscriminately firing and hurling hand grenades at various places on November 26, 2008.
Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, both Indians, are charged with drawing maps of targets and passing them on to Lashkar-e-Taiba to execute the diabolic terror attacks.
Among the places targeted by the terrorists were Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus, Nariman House, Cama Hospital, Hotel Taj Mahal, Hotel Oberoi-Trident and Metro junction. At some of these places, terrorists held siege for close to 60 hours before being killed by security forces in a pitched battle.
While Kasab was caught alive at Girgaum Chowpatty when he was trying to escape in a car, nine other gunmen were shot dead by police and security forces.
The three accused have been tried under the provisions of various acts including IPC, Bombay Police Act, Passport Act, Customs Act, Foreigners Act, Damage to Public Property Act, Railways Act, and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Defence lawyer K.P. Pawar said, “We have done our best to convince the court that Kasab is innocent and falsely implicated in the 26/11 terror attack case. Now it is for the court to decide.”
The Arthur Road jail has become a fortress with large number of police personnel posted at various vantage points on Sane Guruji Marg which has been made one way for the traffic movements.
Inside the jail, 200 Indo-Tibetan Border Security guards are providing security cover to Ajmal Kasab who held the city under siege with his associates at the behest of LeT for more than two days from November 26, 2008.
Kasab is lodged in a bullet and bomb proof cell which is covered by iron sheets from all sides. The court is also built with equally strong iron reinforcements to make it bullet and bomb proof.
The other two accused are lodged in separate cells elsewhere in the jail.
Special passes have been issued to media personnel, lawyers, court staff and family members of the accused for their entry into the court. There are at least three entry points where everyone is frisked thoroughly. Pens and cell phones have been prohibited inside the court.
The prosecution had filed a 11,000 page chargesheet against Kasab and two other accused and examined 658 witnesses during the one year-long trial described in legal circles as the fastest ever among the terror cases in India.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
“My son got bullet for a glass of water”, recalls 26/11 victim
Fifty-year-old Jamuna Waghela, who escaped death by a whisker on the fateful night of 26/11, recalls with horror how her young son was shot dead after serving a glass of water to gun-wielding Ajmal Kasab and wants the Pakistani terrorist hanged without delay.
“Why has Kasab been kept alive? He should not be shown any mercy and hanged without delay,” says an angry Jamuna as she waits for justice to be done to her family five days from now when the anti-terror court is to pronounce its verdict in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case.
“What has he (Kasab) gained from killing my son? Why they (terrorists) do all this? He killed my son for giving a glass of water?” asks a livid Jamuna fighting back tears.
According to police, Jamuna’s son Thakur Wagela (32), a sweeper at government-run GT Hospital in south Mumbai, was shot dead by Kasab at his hut located in a lane near Cama Hospital.
On November 26, 2008, Kasab and his accomplice Abu Ismail, along with eight others, came from Pakistan by sea and struck terror at various places including Taj Mahal Hotel, Nariman House, Oberoi hotel and CST terminus, killing 166 people and injuring many more.
Kasab fatally injured Thakur before walking into Cama Hospital where he exchanged fire with security personnel.
Later, outside the hospital he shot dead the then ATS chief Hemant Karkare, DIG Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar.
“At 10 pm, I was standing outside my house while my son and grandson were having dinner. Two persons (Kasab and Ismail) came dashing down the lane outside and one of them, later identified as Ajmal Kasab, stopped near my house when I asked him what he wanted,” recounted Jamuna.
“His associate immediately opened fire at me but luckily the bullets did not hit me. I hid behind a hut as Kasab walked up to my son and asked for water,” said Jamuna, whose husband Budhai (60) too is a sweeper at GT hospital.
“I could see my son offer Kasab a glass of water with trembling hands. The terrorist gulped it down and coolly shot at my son who slumped to the ground as I watched helplessly in horror,” she said clutching Thakur’s photo.
She, however, thanks God for the little mercy shown to her. “Kasab did not see my grandson or he would have got killed too.”
“The whole night I was not informed about my son’s death and told he was undergoing treatment. The next day, when I went to the hospital, I found him dead,” recalls Jamuna.
“My son’s innocent face still haunts me. I get up every night thinking somebody has broken into my house. I feel scared to even sit outside my house late in the evening,” she says.
Thakur has left behind his wife and three children.
Though his wife has been given a sweeper’s job at GT Hospital and a flat in Sion in central Mumbai by the state government their welfare is a source of constant worry, Jamuna added.
“Why has Kasab been kept alive? He should not be shown any mercy and hanged without delay,” says an angry Jamuna as she waits for justice to be done to her family five days from now when the anti-terror court is to pronounce its verdict in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case.
“What has he (Kasab) gained from killing my son? Why they (terrorists) do all this? He killed my son for giving a glass of water?” asks a livid Jamuna fighting back tears.
According to police, Jamuna’s son Thakur Wagela (32), a sweeper at government-run GT Hospital in south Mumbai, was shot dead by Kasab at his hut located in a lane near Cama Hospital.
On November 26, 2008, Kasab and his accomplice Abu Ismail, along with eight others, came from Pakistan by sea and struck terror at various places including Taj Mahal Hotel, Nariman House, Oberoi hotel and CST terminus, killing 166 people and injuring many more.
Kasab fatally injured Thakur before walking into Cama Hospital where he exchanged fire with security personnel.
Later, outside the hospital he shot dead the then ATS chief Hemant Karkare, DIG Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar.
“At 10 pm, I was standing outside my house while my son and grandson were having dinner. Two persons (Kasab and Ismail) came dashing down the lane outside and one of them, later identified as Ajmal Kasab, stopped near my house when I asked him what he wanted,” recounted Jamuna.
“His associate immediately opened fire at me but luckily the bullets did not hit me. I hid behind a hut as Kasab walked up to my son and asked for water,” said Jamuna, whose husband Budhai (60) too is a sweeper at GT hospital.
“I could see my son offer Kasab a glass of water with trembling hands. The terrorist gulped it down and coolly shot at my son who slumped to the ground as I watched helplessly in horror,” she said clutching Thakur’s photo.
She, however, thanks God for the little mercy shown to her. “Kasab did not see my grandson or he would have got killed too.”
“The whole night I was not informed about my son’s death and told he was undergoing treatment. The next day, when I went to the hospital, I found him dead,” recalls Jamuna.
“My son’s innocent face still haunts me. I get up every night thinking somebody has broken into my house. I feel scared to even sit outside my house late in the evening,” she says.
Thakur has left behind his wife and three children.
Though his wife has been given a sweeper’s job at GT Hospital and a flat in Sion in central Mumbai by the state government their welfare is a source of constant worry, Jamuna added.
Monday, April 26, 2010
No ruling out Manmohan, Gilani meeting during SAARC meet: Krishna
In a first official indication of a possible meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan here, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Monday said the bilateral meeting cannot be ruled out.
“I am not ruling it out,” Mr. Krishna said when asked if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani during his visit here for the SAARC summit to be held on April 28 to 29.
Observing that heads of states and governments are going to be under the same roof for the next couple of days for the multilateral meeting, the minister said there will be a number of bilateral meetings during the period.
“Lets wait and watch, how things are going to work out,” he said, adding “all bilateral issues between India and Pakistan will be discussed as and when the Prime Ministers meet“.
Asked about Pakistan’s request seeking the testimony of the Indian magistrates who recorded the confessional statement of Mumbai attack accused Ajmal Kasab, Mr. Krishna said he was yet to examine the matter.
Mr. Krishna said he has received the dossier containing the request late last night but he was yet to go through the same.
Maintaining that Kasab’s trial was in advanced stage in India, he said it was going on in full steam.
“We have to complete our legal formalities first and then we can examine Pakistan’s request for the same,” he said, adding, the matter will be examined in consultation with other ministries and departments.
The Pakistani side has made a request for three Indian officials, including two magistrates and an investigator, to be allowed to travel to Pakistan to testify that they had recorded Kasab’s statement.
A special court in Mumbai hearing the case of Kasab, the lone gunman captured alive by Indian authorities after the Mumbai siege of 2008, is expected to deliver its verdict on May 3.
Mr. Krishna arrived here for the 16th SAARC summit to be held on Wednesday and Thursday.
“I am not ruling it out,” Mr. Krishna said when asked if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani during his visit here for the SAARC summit to be held on April 28 to 29.
Observing that heads of states and governments are going to be under the same roof for the next couple of days for the multilateral meeting, the minister said there will be a number of bilateral meetings during the period.
“Lets wait and watch, how things are going to work out,” he said, adding “all bilateral issues between India and Pakistan will be discussed as and when the Prime Ministers meet“.
Asked about Pakistan’s request seeking the testimony of the Indian magistrates who recorded the confessional statement of Mumbai attack accused Ajmal Kasab, Mr. Krishna said he was yet to examine the matter.
Mr. Krishna said he has received the dossier containing the request late last night but he was yet to go through the same.
Maintaining that Kasab’s trial was in advanced stage in India, he said it was going on in full steam.
“We have to complete our legal formalities first and then we can examine Pakistan’s request for the same,” he said, adding, the matter will be examined in consultation with other ministries and departments.
The Pakistani side has made a request for three Indian officials, including two magistrates and an investigator, to be allowed to travel to Pakistan to testify that they had recorded Kasab’s statement.
A special court in Mumbai hearing the case of Kasab, the lone gunman captured alive by Indian authorities after the Mumbai siege of 2008, is expected to deliver its verdict on May 3.
Mr. Krishna arrived here for the 16th SAARC summit to be held on Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Headley to plead guilty before U.S. court on March 18
Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, a LeT operative charged with conspiring in the Mumbai terror strike, will plead guilty before a US court on Thursday, five months after he was arrested by the FBI.
A court notice said a “change of plea” hearing has been set on Thursday scheduling David Coleman Headley before US District Judge Harry Leinenweber. A routine status hearing was scheduled for Headley on March 23.
“Yes, he (Headley) will plead guilty,” John Theis, Headley’s lawyer, told PTI when asked if his client is changing his not-guilty plea.
“I expect that is what is going to happen on March 18,” Theis said.
He, however, declined to comment on whether Headley would be pleading guilty to all or some of the charges in the 12-count superseding indictment filed against him on January 14.
The 49-year-old Headley is charged with conspiring in the Mumbai terror strike and planning attack on a Danish newspaper which published a cartoon on Prophet Mohammad.
The son of a Pakistani diplomat and a Philadelphia socialite, Headley had so far pleaded not guilty to the charges and has remained in federal custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre here since he was arrested in October 2009.
Theis refused to give any details when asked whether a plea deal has been worked out for Headley, who has been “cooperating in the ongoing investigation“.
If convicted, Headley faces maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death.
Theis said: “We have had discussions with the government regarding the plea bargain. We are working on it and we expect there will be a plea agreement.”
However, Headley’s cooperation in the investigation is seen as a way to escape death penalty.
Spokesman for Chicago US Attorney Patrick J Fitzgerald, Randall Samborn said Headley would be present in court for the March 18 hearing.
Samborn too declined to comment on what charges Headley would be pleading guilty to.
In the 12 count indictment, Headley, a 49 year old Chicago resident, faces six counts of conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering and maiming persons in India and Denmark, providing material support to foreign terrorist plots, providing material support to Lashkar and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of US citizens in India.
The FBI had also charged Headley’s friend from a Pakistani military school, city-businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana with providing material support to the Mumbai attacks as well as to the terrorist organisation LeT.
Pakistani-Canadian Rana has pleaded not guilty to the charges and said that he was duped by Headley.
Rana has been denied bail by the court and is held at the Correctional centre since his October arrest. A hearing for his case has been set for March 29.
Headley was first arrested in 1998 for conspiring to smuggle heroin into the US from Pakistan. However, after his arrest he cooperated with the investigation, giving information about his involvement in drug trafficking and his Pakistani suppliers.
Due to his cooperation, he was sentenced to less than two years in prison and shortly thereafter went to Pakistan to conduct undercover surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In 2002 and 2003, Headley allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar and conspired with its members and others, including co-accused Rana, Ilyas Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman in planning and executing the attacks on India and a Danish newspaper.
He conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai between September 2006 and July 2008, taking photographs and making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in the November 2008 attacks that killed approximately 164 people and left hundreds more injured.
After every trip to India, Headley allegedly travelled to Pakistan to share videos and photographs of the targets in India with Lashkar members.
A court notice said a “change of plea” hearing has been set on Thursday scheduling David Coleman Headley before US District Judge Harry Leinenweber. A routine status hearing was scheduled for Headley on March 23.
“Yes, he (Headley) will plead guilty,” John Theis, Headley’s lawyer, told PTI when asked if his client is changing his not-guilty plea.
“I expect that is what is going to happen on March 18,” Theis said.
He, however, declined to comment on whether Headley would be pleading guilty to all or some of the charges in the 12-count superseding indictment filed against him on January 14.
The 49-year-old Headley is charged with conspiring in the Mumbai terror strike and planning attack on a Danish newspaper which published a cartoon on Prophet Mohammad.
The son of a Pakistani diplomat and a Philadelphia socialite, Headley had so far pleaded not guilty to the charges and has remained in federal custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre here since he was arrested in October 2009.
Theis refused to give any details when asked whether a plea deal has been worked out for Headley, who has been “cooperating in the ongoing investigation“.
If convicted, Headley faces maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death.
Theis said: “We have had discussions with the government regarding the plea bargain. We are working on it and we expect there will be a plea agreement.”
However, Headley’s cooperation in the investigation is seen as a way to escape death penalty.
Spokesman for Chicago US Attorney Patrick J Fitzgerald, Randall Samborn said Headley would be present in court for the March 18 hearing.
Samborn too declined to comment on what charges Headley would be pleading guilty to.
In the 12 count indictment, Headley, a 49 year old Chicago resident, faces six counts of conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering and maiming persons in India and Denmark, providing material support to foreign terrorist plots, providing material support to Lashkar and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of US citizens in India.
The FBI had also charged Headley’s friend from a Pakistani military school, city-businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana with providing material support to the Mumbai attacks as well as to the terrorist organisation LeT.
Pakistani-Canadian Rana has pleaded not guilty to the charges and said that he was duped by Headley.
Rana has been denied bail by the court and is held at the Correctional centre since his October arrest. A hearing for his case has been set for March 29.
Headley was first arrested in 1998 for conspiring to smuggle heroin into the US from Pakistan. However, after his arrest he cooperated with the investigation, giving information about his involvement in drug trafficking and his Pakistani suppliers.
Due to his cooperation, he was sentenced to less than two years in prison and shortly thereafter went to Pakistan to conduct undercover surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In 2002 and 2003, Headley allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar and conspired with its members and others, including co-accused Rana, Ilyas Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman in planning and executing the attacks on India and a Danish newspaper.
He conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai between September 2006 and July 2008, taking photographs and making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in the November 2008 attacks that killed approximately 164 people and left hundreds more injured.
After every trip to India, Headley allegedly travelled to Pakistan to share videos and photographs of the targets in India with Lashkar members.
Friday, March 12, 2010
"ISI maintaining links with Lashkar"
The ISI continues to maintain links with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the terrorist outfit responsible for 26/11, and Islamabad is reluctant to take action against its leaders and its network, several eminent U.S. scholars and experts of South Asia have categorically told U.S. lawmakers.
Attending a special Congressional hearing on Thursday on “Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Growing ambition of Islamic Militancy in Pakistan”, Congressmen unanimously expressed concern that despite best of the efforts by the Obama Administration, the ISI continues to maintain links with LeT and that Pakistan is not taking decisive action against the terrorist outfit.
"The LeT is a deadly serious group of fanatics. They are well financed, ambitious, and most disturbingly, both tolerated by, and connected to, the Pakistani military," said Gary L. Ackerman, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the House Committee on International Relations.
And it is the same Pakistani military, to which the Obama Administration is selling advanced arms, he pointed out.
Testifying before the Congressional committee, Marvin G Weinbaum, from the Middle East Institute –- a Washington-based think tank, said despite the government official ban of LeT, ISI continued to consider the organisation as an asset.
The ISI is believed to continue to share intelligence and provide protection to LeT, he said.
"It is a measure of the impunity with which LeT is allowed to operate in Pakistan that the authorities have been unwilling to contain LeT chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed.
His inflammatory remarks would be expected to land him among the hundreds of disappeared political activists in the country. Although he has been periodically arrested, his house detentions have been cosmetic," Mr. Weinbaum said.
Noting that LeT poses a threat to the U.S. national security interests, Lisa Curtis from the Heritage Foundation said the appearance of LeT leader Hafez Muhammed Sayeed at a recent public rally casts grave doubts about Pakistan’s commitment to reining in the group’s activities.
Policy failure
Ms. Curtis said it has been a failure of U.S. policy to not insist Pakistan shut down the LeT long ago. U.S. officials have shied away from pressuring Pakistan on the LeT in the interest of garnering Pakistani cooperation against targets the U.S. believed were more critical to immediate U.S. objectives, that is Al-Qaeda shortly after 9/11 and the Afghan Taliban more recently.
“To degrade the overall international terrorist threat emanating from Pakistan, the US must convince Islamabad to confront those groups it has supported against India," Ms. Curtis said.
The Mumbai attacks and subsequent Headley investigations reveal that the LeT has the international capabilities and ideological inclination to attack western targets whether they are located in South Asia or elsewhere.
Eminent Pakistani scholar Shuja Nawaz too conceded that the relationship between the ISI and LeT has stayed overtime.
Ms. Nawaz is currently the director, South Asia Center, The Atlantic Council of the United States.
"The LeT's emerging role as a trans regional force that has broadened its aim to include India and perhaps even Afghanistan, by linking with the Students Islamic Movement of India or SIMI and the Harkat ul Jihad al Islami or HUJI of Bangladesh poses a serious threat to regional stability," Mr. Nawaz said.
"Another Mumbai-type attack involving the LeT might bring India and Pakistan into conflict, a prospect that should keep us awake at night. In Pakistan, both the civil and the military now appear to recognise the existential threat from home grown militancy.
"The army appears to have dislocated the Tehreek e Taliban of Pakistan. Yet, it faces a huge and, to my mind, greater threat in the hinterland, in the form of the LeT," he said.
‘Pak a safe haven’
Ashley J Tellis, senior associate at the prestigious Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told lawmakers that today LeT relies on the ISI primarily for safe haven and political protection for its leadership, intelligence on selected targets and threats, campaign guidance when necessary, and infiltration assistance, particularly in regard to long distance operations involving transits through third countries.
"Although the interrogation of David Headley has now established that there were clearly some shadowy ISI connections with the Bombay (Mumbai) attacks, the management of the LeT detainees by the Pakistani state and the tortured progress of their trial demonstrates that, whatever the outcome of this charade, the ISI has simply no intention of eviscerating LeT (or any other anti-Indian jihadi groups) because of their perceived utility to Pakistan’s national strategy vis-à-vis India," Mr. Tellis said.
"So long as the Pakistani Army and the security establishment more generally conclude that their private interests (and their conception of the national interest) are undermined by a permanent reconciliation between India and Pakistan, they will not rid themselves of the terrorist groups they have begotten and which serve their purposes-irrespective of what New Delhi or Kabul or Washington may desire," he said.
"This fact ought to be understood clearly by the Obama administration. Once it is, it may push the United
States to either compel Pakistan to initiate action against LeT or hold Pakistan responsible for the actions of its proxies.
If these efforts do not bear fruit, the United States will have to contemplate unilateral actions (or cooperative actions with other allies) to neutralize the most dangerous of the terrorist groups now resident in Pakistan.
Doing so may be increasingly necessary not simply to prevent a future Indo-Pakistani crisis, but more importantly to protect the United States, its citizens, its interests, and its allies," Mr. Tellis said.
Attending a special Congressional hearing on Thursday on “Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Growing ambition of Islamic Militancy in Pakistan”, Congressmen unanimously expressed concern that despite best of the efforts by the Obama Administration, the ISI continues to maintain links with LeT and that Pakistan is not taking decisive action against the terrorist outfit.
"The LeT is a deadly serious group of fanatics. They are well financed, ambitious, and most disturbingly, both tolerated by, and connected to, the Pakistani military," said Gary L. Ackerman, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the House Committee on International Relations.
And it is the same Pakistani military, to which the Obama Administration is selling advanced arms, he pointed out.
Testifying before the Congressional committee, Marvin G Weinbaum, from the Middle East Institute –- a Washington-based think tank, said despite the government official ban of LeT, ISI continued to consider the organisation as an asset.
The ISI is believed to continue to share intelligence and provide protection to LeT, he said.
"It is a measure of the impunity with which LeT is allowed to operate in Pakistan that the authorities have been unwilling to contain LeT chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed.
His inflammatory remarks would be expected to land him among the hundreds of disappeared political activists in the country. Although he has been periodically arrested, his house detentions have been cosmetic," Mr. Weinbaum said.
Noting that LeT poses a threat to the U.S. national security interests, Lisa Curtis from the Heritage Foundation said the appearance of LeT leader Hafez Muhammed Sayeed at a recent public rally casts grave doubts about Pakistan’s commitment to reining in the group’s activities.
Policy failure
Ms. Curtis said it has been a failure of U.S. policy to not insist Pakistan shut down the LeT long ago. U.S. officials have shied away from pressuring Pakistan on the LeT in the interest of garnering Pakistani cooperation against targets the U.S. believed were more critical to immediate U.S. objectives, that is Al-Qaeda shortly after 9/11 and the Afghan Taliban more recently.
“To degrade the overall international terrorist threat emanating from Pakistan, the US must convince Islamabad to confront those groups it has supported against India," Ms. Curtis said.
The Mumbai attacks and subsequent Headley investigations reveal that the LeT has the international capabilities and ideological inclination to attack western targets whether they are located in South Asia or elsewhere.
Eminent Pakistani scholar Shuja Nawaz too conceded that the relationship between the ISI and LeT has stayed overtime.
Ms. Nawaz is currently the director, South Asia Center, The Atlantic Council of the United States.
"The LeT's emerging role as a trans regional force that has broadened its aim to include India and perhaps even Afghanistan, by linking with the Students Islamic Movement of India or SIMI and the Harkat ul Jihad al Islami or HUJI of Bangladesh poses a serious threat to regional stability," Mr. Nawaz said.
"Another Mumbai-type attack involving the LeT might bring India and Pakistan into conflict, a prospect that should keep us awake at night. In Pakistan, both the civil and the military now appear to recognise the existential threat from home grown militancy.
"The army appears to have dislocated the Tehreek e Taliban of Pakistan. Yet, it faces a huge and, to my mind, greater threat in the hinterland, in the form of the LeT," he said.
‘Pak a safe haven’
Ashley J Tellis, senior associate at the prestigious Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told lawmakers that today LeT relies on the ISI primarily for safe haven and political protection for its leadership, intelligence on selected targets and threats, campaign guidance when necessary, and infiltration assistance, particularly in regard to long distance operations involving transits through third countries.
"Although the interrogation of David Headley has now established that there were clearly some shadowy ISI connections with the Bombay (Mumbai) attacks, the management of the LeT detainees by the Pakistani state and the tortured progress of their trial demonstrates that, whatever the outcome of this charade, the ISI has simply no intention of eviscerating LeT (or any other anti-Indian jihadi groups) because of their perceived utility to Pakistan’s national strategy vis-à-vis India," Mr. Tellis said.
"So long as the Pakistani Army and the security establishment more generally conclude that their private interests (and their conception of the national interest) are undermined by a permanent reconciliation between India and Pakistan, they will not rid themselves of the terrorist groups they have begotten and which serve their purposes-irrespective of what New Delhi or Kabul or Washington may desire," he said.
"This fact ought to be understood clearly by the Obama administration. Once it is, it may push the United
States to either compel Pakistan to initiate action against LeT or hold Pakistan responsible for the actions of its proxies.
If these efforts do not bear fruit, the United States will have to contemplate unilateral actions (or cooperative actions with other allies) to neutralize the most dangerous of the terrorist groups now resident in Pakistan.
Doing so may be increasingly necessary not simply to prevent a future Indo-Pakistani crisis, but more importantly to protect the United States, its citizens, its interests, and its allies," Mr. Tellis said.
Monday, February 22, 2010
26/11 accused asks to examine NIA chief, Rahul Bhatt as witnesses
Sabauddin Ahmed, an accused in the 26/11 terror attack case today sought permission from the trial court to examine NIA Chief S. C. Sinha, Gujarat DGP S. S. Khandwawala, Rahul Bhatt - son of film maker Mahesh Bhatt, and Fitness Instructor Vilas Warak as defence witnesses.
Ahmed’s lawyer Ejaz Naqvi told the court that he wants to examine these four witness to establish that terror suspect David Headley had conducted the recce of Mumbai before the 26/11 attack and not Sabahuddin as alleged by the prosecution.
“David Headley was staying at Malabar Hill in Mumbai and had conducted recce of the entire city and had passed on information to the 26/11 perpetrators. Then what is the need for Sabahuddin to prepare the sketches?” Mr. Naqvi asked.
He further argued that according to the investigation agencies, Headley had also conducted recce of the Osho ashram in Pune near which a blast took place on February 13.
Asked by special judge M. L. Tahiliyani as to what evidence Mr. Rahul Bhatt and Mr. Vilas Warak can give, Mr. Naqvi said the duo were close friends of Headley and had visited several places in the city with him.
However, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam opposed the application of Sabahuddin stating that the evidence of these witness was not relevant in the trial and also that Mr. Naqvi was going on hypothesis that the whole 26/11 attack took place because of Headley.
“According to the prosecution, Sabahuddin and Faheem Ansari had prepared the maps of the terror sites and supplied them to the perpetrators. However, the possibility of Headley also supplying pictures of the terror sites cannot be ruled out,” Mr. Nikam told the court.
The court will pass its order on the application tomorrow.
Besides Sabahuddin, Ansari and Ajmal Kasab are facing trial. While Kasab is charged with killing 166 persons in the attack, Sabahuddin and Ansari are facing charges of drawing maps of targets and passing them on militant outfit LeT for executing the terror strikes.
Ahmed’s lawyer Ejaz Naqvi told the court that he wants to examine these four witness to establish that terror suspect David Headley had conducted the recce of Mumbai before the 26/11 attack and not Sabahuddin as alleged by the prosecution.
“David Headley was staying at Malabar Hill in Mumbai and had conducted recce of the entire city and had passed on information to the 26/11 perpetrators. Then what is the need for Sabahuddin to prepare the sketches?” Mr. Naqvi asked.
He further argued that according to the investigation agencies, Headley had also conducted recce of the Osho ashram in Pune near which a blast took place on February 13.
Asked by special judge M. L. Tahiliyani as to what evidence Mr. Rahul Bhatt and Mr. Vilas Warak can give, Mr. Naqvi said the duo were close friends of Headley and had visited several places in the city with him.
However, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam opposed the application of Sabahuddin stating that the evidence of these witness was not relevant in the trial and also that Mr. Naqvi was going on hypothesis that the whole 26/11 attack took place because of Headley.
“According to the prosecution, Sabahuddin and Faheem Ansari had prepared the maps of the terror sites and supplied them to the perpetrators. However, the possibility of Headley also supplying pictures of the terror sites cannot be ruled out,” Mr. Nikam told the court.
The court will pass its order on the application tomorrow.
Besides Sabahuddin, Ansari and Ajmal Kasab are facing trial. While Kasab is charged with killing 166 persons in the attack, Sabahuddin and Ansari are facing charges of drawing maps of targets and passing them on militant outfit LeT for executing the terror strikes.
Friday, February 19, 2010
India to raise 26/11 probe status with Pakistan
Just a week ahead of the meeting between Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan, Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday said issues relating to the probe into 26/11 attacks will be taken up during the parleys.
Noting that the “specific issues” to be taken up during the discussions were being finalised by the Indian side, he said the ministry would like “pending issues” concerning the 26/11 case and investigation also to be part of it.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will be meeting her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir here on February 25 with India making it clear that terror will be on top of its agenda.
Seeking access to Headley
In an interaction with women journalists, the Home Minister also said his ministry would go through the legal process to seek access to Pakistani-American LeT operative David Headley, now lodged in a Chicago jail.
Asked if FBI was holding back some crucial information from the Indian government as was being suggested by some reports, Mr. Chidambaram said, “Well, I don’t know. All I can say is FBI has shared vital information. If they are holding back any information, there is no way my knowing that they are holding back any information.
“And as far as access to Headley is concerned. Our position remains the same that we will go through legal process to seek access to David headley.”
Mr. Chidambaram also indicated that he would be attending the SAARC home ministers' meeting in Islamabad.
“If and when it is held, the present position of the government is that we are attending,” he said.
The meeting scheduled this month was postponed at Nepal's request.
Noting that the “specific issues” to be taken up during the discussions were being finalised by the Indian side, he said the ministry would like “pending issues” concerning the 26/11 case and investigation also to be part of it.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will be meeting her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir here on February 25 with India making it clear that terror will be on top of its agenda.
Seeking access to Headley
In an interaction with women journalists, the Home Minister also said his ministry would go through the legal process to seek access to Pakistani-American LeT operative David Headley, now lodged in a Chicago jail.
Asked if FBI was holding back some crucial information from the Indian government as was being suggested by some reports, Mr. Chidambaram said, “Well, I don’t know. All I can say is FBI has shared vital information. If they are holding back any information, there is no way my knowing that they are holding back any information.
“And as far as access to Headley is concerned. Our position remains the same that we will go through legal process to seek access to David headley.”
Mr. Chidambaram also indicated that he would be attending the SAARC home ministers' meeting in Islamabad.
“If and when it is held, the present position of the government is that we are attending,” he said.
The meeting scheduled this month was postponed at Nepal's request.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Kasab wants Rane as witness, 26/11 court rejects plea
Seeking to delay the 26/11 trial, Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab on Wednesday sought to call Maharashtra minister Narayan Rane as a defence witness but the special court rejected the plea terming his request as “irrelevant” and concluded the recording of evidence.
Special court judge M L Tahaliyani adjourned the case to February 20 for arguments.
Kasab made the request through his lawyer K P Pawar, who pleaded that Revenue Minister Rane be examined as defence witness as he had made a public statement that some local elements had helped the 26/11 terrorists. Soon after the carnage, Mr. Rane said he knew some politicians who had provided monetary and logistical support to terrorists.
However, when Solapur-based Purushottam Barde filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court seeking an inquiry into his statement, M. Rane, in an affidavit said that he had simply referred to N.N. Vohra committee’s report on criminalisation of politics and not talked about individuals.
Pawar contended that since Kasab was charged with participating in the conspiracy, Mr. Rane’s evidence would throw light on people involved in planning and executing the attacks.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam opposed Kasab’s plea saying Rane’s deposition was not relevant to the case.
The judge felt that Mr. Rane’s deposition would not help Kasab in any way and would be a waste of time.
Monday, January 18, 2010
All terrorists who stormed Taj Hotel were Indians: Kasab
Continuing his flip-flop, Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab on Monday told a special court trying the 26/11 attacks case that all the four terrorists who stormed Taj hotel were Indians.
Kasab, whose statement is being recorded by the court on evidences adduced by the prosecution, told Special Judge M.L. Tahaliyani that while one of the terrorists of the Taj hotel siege was a Kashmiri, another was from Gujarat.
Kasab claimed the third terrorist at Taj was Abu Ismail from Mumbai. According to prosecution, Ismail was gunned down at Girgaum Chowpatty by the police in an encounter when he along with Kasab was trying to escape. He, however, did not elaborate on the identity of the fourth terrorist at the Taj.
The Pakistani terrorist has been making conflicting statements in the court.
While at one point Kasab confessed to his guilt and admitted having shot people at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus along with Abu Ismail before being captured at Girgaum Chowpatty, he later denied any involvement in the terror strikes.
Kasab's claim came when Judge Tahaliyani wanted to know if he had anything to say about the slain terrorists who had been identified by eyewitnesses.
When the Judge asked how he knew that Abu Ismail was from Mumbai, Kasab said, “I can make out from his face.”
After having initially confessed to his guilt, Kasab had recently denied involvement and told the court that he had come to India from Pakistan by Samjhauta Express several days before the 26/11 carnage and was picked up from Girgaum Chowpatty by police a day before the terror attacks.
Later, speaking to reporters outside the court, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam described Kasab's claim as “absurd and concocted.”
“Kasab's claim is absurd and concocted. He has been taking frequent U-turns and this is one of those. This will in no way weaken the prosecution's case against him," Mr. Nikam said.
