Photograph of Ajmal Kasab, one of the ten terrorists involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks at the Victoria Terminus station. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Timeline: Ajmal Kasab’s journey to the noose

The following is the chronology of events in 26/11 terror attack case in which the Supreme Court (SC) today upheld the death sentence of lone Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab:

Nov 26, 2008: Kasab and 9 terrorists launched acommando raid in Mumbai.

Nov 27, 2008: At 1.30am, Kasab caught and placed under arrest, admitted to Nair Hospital.

Nov 29, 2008: All places under siege secured, 9 terrorists were killed.

Nov 30, 2008: Kasab confesses before police.

Dec 27/28, 2008: An identification parade was held.

Jan 13, 2009: ML Tahaliyani was appointed the 26/11 judge.

Jan 16, 2009: Arthur Road Jail was selected for Kasab’s trial.

Feb 5, 2009: Kasab’s DNA samples match with articles found in Kuber.

Feb 20/21, 2009: Kasab made a confession before the magistrate.

Feb 22, 2009: Ujjwal Nikam was appointed special public prosecutor.

Feb 25, 2009: A charge sheet against Kasab, two others were filed in court.

Apr 1, 2009: Anjali Waghmare was appointed Kasab’s lawyer.

Apr 15, 2009: Anjali Waghmare was removed as Kasab’s lawyer.

Apr 16, 2009: Abbas Kazmi was appointed as Kasab’s lawyer.

Apr 17, 2009: Kasab’s confession was opened in court, he retracted.

Apr 20, 2009: The prosecution charged Kasab on 312 counts.

Apr 29, 2009: Experts opined that Kasab was major, .

May 6, 2009: Charges were framed, Kasab charged on 86 counts, but he denied the charges.

May 8, 2009: The first eyewitness deposed and identified Kasab.

June 23, 2009: Non-bailable warrants issued were against 22 including Hafeez Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

Nov 30, 2009: Abbas Kazmi was removed as Kasab’s lawyer

Dec 1, 2009: KP Pawar took the place of Kazmi.

Dec 16, 2009: The prosecution completed its case in 26/11.

Dec 18, 2009: Kasab denied all charges.

March 31, 2010: The arguments in the case end. Special Judge ML Tahaliyani reserves judgment for May 3, 2010.

May 3, 2010: Kasab was convicted, Sabauddin Ahmed and Faheem Ansari were acquitted of all charges.

May 6, 2010: Kasab was sentenced to death by the trial court.

Feb 21, 2011: The Bombay High Court upheld the death sentence to Kasab.

March 2011: Kasab wrote a letter to the SC challenging the HC order.

Oct 10, 2011: The SC stayed the execution of the death sentence awarded to the Pakistani terrorist

Oct 10, 2011: Kasab told the SC that he was brainwashed like a “robot” into committing the heinous crime in the name of “God” and that he did not deserve capital punishment owing to his young age.

Oct 18, 2011: The Supreme Court admited the Maharashtra government’s appeal challenging the acquittal of Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, co-accused of Ajmal Kasab, in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

Jan 31, 2012: Kasab told the SC that he was not given a free and fair trial in the case.

Feb 23, 2012: The SC heard intercepted conversations between the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and their Pakistani handlers and watched the CCTV footage of the carnage.

Apr 25, 2012: The SC reserves its verdict after a marathon hearing, spanning over two and a half months.

Aug 29, 2012: The SC upheld the death sentence of Kasab and the acquittal of two alleged Indian co-conspirators in the case.

Kasab’s was a unique case: ATS chief Maria

Maharashtra ATS chief Rakesh Maria on Wednesday said that the trial and sentencing of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab was culmination of a “unique” investigation, and a daunting task accomplished by various agencies.

“It was a unique investigation in which 657 witnesses were examined and investigating agencies from all over the world were involved,” he said, reacting to the Supreme Court ruling upholding the death sentence for Kasab.

The investigation was challenging, Maria said, as the conspiracy had been hatched on the foreign soil and the terrorists were well-equipped. The ATS was still hunting for the remaining accused, most of whom were in Pakistan, he said.

He thanked various departments of Mumbai police, forensic department and special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam for their efforts.

Referring to the probe of low-intensity blasts in Pune on August 1, Maria said ATS would try to get a break-through in the case before the Ganesh festival as directed by the state government. The investigation in the J M Road blast was making a good progress, he added.

Vociferous demand to execute Ajmal Kasab at the earliest

The Supreme Court verdict upholding the death sentence of Ajmal Kasab in 26/11 Mumbai attacks case on Wednesday led to a vociferous demand for execution of the Pakistani terrorist at the earliest from parties, kin of the victims and other quarters in the country.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said government, on its part, will ensure that if Kasab files a mercy plea, it is disposed of in minimum time and asked Pakistan to punish other perpetrators who have taken shelter on its soil.

“…Now, he should be given complete sentence quickly. Punishment should be executed quickly,” Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh said reacting to the Supreme Court verdict on Kasab’s appeal against his conviction and sentence.

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “Those who wage war against the country and kill innocents deserve no mercy…. Kasab should be hanged without any delay … enough of ‘biryani’ for him.”

Describing Pakistan as “a terror factory”, he said the government “must take all steps to destroy” terror infrastructure and sought a separate set of laws to deal with terror-related cases.

“No leniency should be shown against this kind of a terrorist. They have tried to destroy the peace of the nation, so he (Kasab) should be hanged as fast as possible,” Naqvi said.

Welcoming the verdict, the ruling Congress also favoured quick execution of Kasab.

Law Minister Salman Khurshid described the judgement as “inevitable” and rejected suggestions of delay in the final verdict saying a country governed by rule of law cannot mete out street justice.

“I had seen the Bombay High Court judgement. It was very, very complicated judgement for the judiciary to have given. They must have worked very hard on it. That’s been upheld by the Supreme Court. I think most people who do analysis of law would say this was an inevitable endorsement that would have come,” he told reporters in Delhi.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who led the case against Kasab during the trial process, said the death sentence awarded to Kasab should be executed as soon as possible so that it gives a strong signal to the terrorists that law takes stern action against such acts.

He also demanded that he prosecution against perpetrators of the 2008 terror strikes should now be expedited by the prosecuting agency of Pakistan, he said.

“The (prosecution in Pakistan) should not delay the trial on the ground that India has to furnish evidence because conspiracy behind the terror attacks was hatched in Pakistan and it is for them to prove the same,” Nikam said, adding the apex court in India has also held that criminal conspiracy behind the attacks was hatched in Pakistan.

Eknath Ombale, the brother of assistant sub-inspector Tukaram Ombale who died fighting terrorists during the 26/11 terror attacks, said if Afzal Guru had been hanged 10 years ago, then 26/11 and 13/7 incidents would not have happened.

“We are very happy with the verdict. We are now waiting for it to be implemented,” he said.

“The truth has come out before the world. I request the government to implement the sentence,” he mentioned.

“Had Afzal Guru been hanged 10 years ago, maybe 26/11 and 13/7 wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

“All Indians are awaiting the moment when Kasab will be hanged,” Ombale said.

Kasab clever & shrewd, kills without a twinge of conscience: SC

ajmal-amir-kasab-photo-terrorist-going-to-be-hanged-image-india-attacked.jpg copy (Photo credit: Shekhar_Sahu)

Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab is “quite clever and shrewd” and killed without “the slightest twinge of conscience” said the Supreme Court today, dismissing his plea for leniency on purported ground that he was brain washed by Lashkar-e-Toiba and acted like a robot.

“We are unable to accept the submission that the appellant was a mere tool in the hands of the Lashkar-e-Toiba. He joined the Lashkar-e-Toiba around December 2007 and continued as its member till the end, despite a number of opportunities to leave it.

This shows his clear and unmistakable intention to be a part of the organisation and participate in its designs,” said a bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam.

“It is true that he is not educated but he is a very good and quick learner, has a tough mind and strong determination. He is also quite clever and shrewd,” it further said.

The court said Kasab has many times described himself as a patriotic Pakistani and has no remorse for waging war against India.

“Even after his arrest, he regarded himself as a ‘watan parast,’ a patriotic Pakistani at war with this country. Where is the question of his being brain-washed or acting under remote control? We completely disagree that the appellant was acting like an automaton. During the past months while we lived through this case, we have been able to make a fair assessment of the appellant’s personality,” the bench said.

“Unfortunately, he is wholly remorseless and any feeling of pity is unknown to him. He kills without the slightest twinge of conscience,” the bench said.

Kasab verdict an important milestone: Crime Branch

The Mumbai Crime Branch, which probed the 26/11 terror attack case, has termed as the “important milestone” the Supreme Court verdict upholding death sentence of Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab.

“The Supreme Court’s judgement is an important milestone in fight against terrorism,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy told a press conference.

On the role of Pakistan, the crime branch chief said, “Abu Jundal’s interrogation further reveals role of Pakistan in exporting terror to our country and his links with LeT”.

Jundal, suspected to be one of the key 26/11 handlers, was deported to India by Saudi Arabia and is currently in the police custody in connection with the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.

“Crime Brnach is collecting very strong evidence against Jundal,” Roy said.

“Those martyrs who laid down their lives to nab Kasab should be given a tribute today,” he said.

“Without them (martyrs) nabbing Kasab and his conviction would not have been possible and those behind the terror strikes exposed,” Roy said.

SOURCE : PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Related articles

• At last it happened, Kasab was granted DEATH PENALTY!!! (abhimanyu007dotcom.wordpress.com)
• Political parties seek early execution of Kasab after SC verdict – Times of India (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

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Ajmal Kasab

So the topic in today’s Discussion Board is ”Should Ajmal Kasab be Hanged??”

At my point of view I would suggest NO to supreme punishment.You may be amazed by my comment, but its the truth.There are certain reasons which made me to go for NO. India is the country known for demolishing the powers of British men by the non-violence method. We have the Leader and the idol of non-violence born in this royal soil-M.K.Gandhi. India is one of the peaceful nation which has not waged a war against any nation after the Independence.

We have created such a great Non-violence path of success, why cant the same happen in this cause ??

Ajmal Kasab -A heartless Beast is one of the instrument created to attack India by a group of beasts. To mention it clear,Kasab maybe a Pakistani but he is not a born terrorist.He has been mentally made to accept that ”INDIANS ARE BAD PEOPLES’‘

I just light a candle for 26/11
It is time to show that we have neither forgiven nor forgotten 26/11.
It is time to remember those who paid with their lives for the fanaticism of
a few, to salute those who gave up their lives trying to shield others, and
to honor those who survived the ordeal of terror
we cherish their memories,
we value their sacrifice and we hail their courage……

Ajmal Kasab, the Pakistani gunman sentenced to death for the November 26, 2008, terror attacks, moved the Bombay High Court on Tuesday challenging the death sentence awarded to him for killing 166 people in the attacks.

“We filed an appeal today,” one of Kasab’s lawyers, Amin Solkar, told Hindustan Times.

Kasab challenged the death penalty on the grounds that it was harsh and pleaded that there were lapses in the evidence produced against him in the trial court.
…
The court will on Wednesday also decide whether Kasab’s lawyer can interview him at Arthur Road jail with prison officials out of audible distance.

Solkar had made this request to the high court on Tuesday.

The prosecution has opposed the plea saying there was danger to the life of the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative and also to the lives of others around him because of Kasab’s “wild behaviour”. Special public prosecutor, Ujjwal Nikam, gave the court a compact disc with close circuit television footage of Kasab assaulting jail staff on September 1. “Kasab is a trained commando and with swift movements he can pose a great danger to his own life as well as to that of the guards,” Nikam said.

Elsewhere HT reports:

The Bombay High Court today made it clear that it would hear on a day-to-day basis from October 18, the matter pertaining to confirmation of death penalty imposed on Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab for his role in 26/11 attacks. “We shall give this matter a top priority and shall not hear any other case from October 18 till this matter is finally heard and disposed of,” said Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice R V More.

The only surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Ajmal Kasab, has requested a new lawyer in order to appeal his death sentence, an official said on Friday. Early last month, a special court gave Mohammed Ajmal Kasab multiple death sentences after he was convicted on charges including murder, waging war against India, conspiracy and terrorism. Kasab was purportedly provided with free legal aid – initially advocate Abbas Kazmi was his lawyer and then advocate KP Pawar – during his trial. He has the option of choosing senior lawyers from the HC panel to defend him in the high court, said an HC advocate. But Kasab is expected to receive the same kind of judicial treatment and “due process” that he has experienced at the hands of Judge M L Tahiliyani. Within a month of the verdict, Kasab has approached the Bombay High Court to challenge the death sentence awarded to him by a special court on May 6. But it is obvious that Kasab expects no justice, since it is the same judicial system.

Arthur Road jail authorities confirmed an appeal letter by Kasab along with a copy of the judgment running into over 1,500 pages was forwarded to the high court. The jail petition sent by Kasab has also requested that a lawyer from the legal aid panel be appointed to represent him in the high court. The government prosecutor in the trial Ujjwal Nikam said that Kasab had sent a letter to the Bombay High Court’s Legal Aid Cell on Wednesday asking to be given a new lawyer in order to help him prepare an appeal against his death sentence. It was not immediately clear when the court would reach a decision on the matter.

A photograph of Kasab, 22, striding through Mumbai’s main train station, an assault rifle in hand, became the iconic image of the three-day siege in November 2008 that claimed the lives of 166 people. Kasab was one of 10 young Pakistanis who attacked two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a busy train station in Mumbai. Kasab’s sentence must be reviewed by the High Court. He can also appeal the decision and apply for clemency to the state and central governments. Death sentences — reserved in India for only the “rarest of rare” cases — by law have to be confirmed by the local high court after reviewing the evidence. Defendants have a right of appeal and can challenge the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court. A final plea for clemency can be made to the country’s president.

Senior state government officials in Maharashtra have said they want the verdict and sentence ratified swiftly, amid public calls for Kasab to be executed as soon as possible. But questions have been raised about how long Kasab will be kept on death row, as India has not carried out an execution since 2004 and only two since 1998, while dozens of final clemency appeals are still pending.

The death sentence has been milked for stories from every angle, from previous hangings to the sort of rope that’s used. The Hindustan Times carried a feature on Buxar Manila rope, which is woven, fittingly, in Buxar central jail. Relatives of those who died during 26/11 have been harangued for quotes so often in the past week that many have switched off their phones in frustration.

As Kasab is being drawn and quartered in the imaginations of hundreds of people, I’ve been reading Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich. An entirely unphilosophical man, the titular character is forced to reflect on his life when he faces imminent death brought on by kidney trouble. What frustrates him as much as the excruciating pain he must suffer is his family’s refusal to acknowledge his death. His life is about to end but his wife and kids prefer to pretend that it will not. In the process, they rob his death of the solemnity it deserves.

We’re doing something similar with our euphoric reactions. I don’t want sanctimoniously claim that one ought not to feel pleasure at Kasab’s hanging. It’s natural I suppose after what Kasab and his mates did. But it’s the pomp, which seems almost to have been extracted from people by a hysterical media, that’s distasteful. The pronouncement of the death penalty, a retrograde practice in this age, should be a sombre moment. Instead we’ve reacted the way the LeT probably did when 166 people died in three days.

Victorious

Media personnel greet public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam after Kasab was sentenced to death. [Photo from Indian Express]

[Photo by Indian Express]

http://bit.ly/b0m12A

http://tinyurl.com/2fspzqu

The lone Pakistani terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, has been sentenced to death by a Mumbai court today. He was the only terrorist out of 10 who was captured alive. Terrorists caused mayhem in Mumbai on 26/11/08, killing 166 innocent people in cold blood. This terrorist attack was planned and executed by LET  operatives from Pakistan. 9 terrorists were killed by Indian security authorities. Their bodies were not accepted by Pakistan. Initially, Pakistan refused to accept Pakistani nationality of Kasab.

While Kasab awaits the execution of the death sentence, his masterminds and handlers are in Pakistan who need to be prosecuted vigorously.

Will Pakistani Gov, ISI and Pak army ensure that happening?

Hope, it dawns on them that terrorists are posing a serious threat to Pakistan too!

Yadu Singh/Sydney/6th May, 2010

The single living suspect in the Mumbai attacks of November 2008 has recanted his confession, saying he was arrested two weeks before the attacks and was shot, tortured and rearrested after the attacks.  Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, 22, told a judge last friday that he came to Mumbai as a tourist twenty days before the attacks began.  “I was not present at VT [Victoria Terminus, the former name of Mumbai's main railway station]. I do not know what has happened,” Kasab said.  ”Witnesses have come and recognised me because my face looks similar to the terrorists … that is why I was picked up. I have been framed”, he said.  Kasab denies being the person photographed in VT with an AK-47 in the photo above.  Prosecution lawyer Ujjwal Nikam dismissed the claims as the latest attempt of a desperate man to save he own life; Kasab faces the death penalty.  The prosecution has presented security footage as well as photographic evidence that allegedly shows Kasab and accomplice Abu Ismail at VT with AK-47′s.  But Kasab told the court: “If you see, all witness accounts are similar. They talk about a tall guy and a short guy. This shows that the police have told these people to identify me as a terrorist…I have learnt from the police that the short guy is dead.  His name is Abu Ali.”  Abu Ali has been identified as one of the four men killed in the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel.  What is unclear is whether the authorities have any audio recordings of cell phone calls placed by the Kasab to his handlers in Pakistan.  The cell phone conversations were intercepted by Indian Intelligence through SIM cards provided by the authorities to the Pakistani group Lashkar e Taiba, the group Kasab alleges his father sold him into during his video tapped confession.  Kasab said he had initially travelled by train to Mumbai – home of the Bollywood film industry -”to see cinema” and was picked up by police on a beach in the northern suburbs 20 days before the attacks.  The 22-year old said he was initially brought into police custody after wandering around the city late at night, looking for a place to stay. His Pakistani citizenship aroused suspicion, he said.  Kasab also claims that police took him from his cell on the day the attacks started because he resembled one of the gunmen, and then shot him to make it look as if he had been involved in the attacks and re-arrested him.

Two taxis carrying explosives blew up within minutes of each other Aug. 25, 2003, at a popular tourist attraction on the city’s waterfront and at a busy shopping complex. In addition to the dead, 100 were wounded in the attacks.

Ashrat Shafiq Mohammed Ansari, Syed Mohammed Haneef Abdul Rahim and his wife, Fahmeeda Syed Mohammed Haneef, were convicted last month of murder, conspiracy to kill and damaging public property.

Ujjwal Nikam, the public prosecutor, said he welcomed the court’s decision to impose the death penalty.

The three had pleaded not guilty and their lawyers said they still plan to appeal the guilty verdict to the state high court.

Investigators had said all three were members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a banned, Pakistan-based militant group formed in the 1980s – with the alleged blessing of Pakistani intelligence – to sow trouble in the disputed Kashmir region. The three denied involvement with the group.

Indian investigators have also blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba for the last year’s attacks in Mumbai in which armed gunmen killed 166 people in a three-day rampage.

when this verdict was announced, fehmida cried, but ashrat was laughing. they can laugh because they know that they have many years before they will actually be hanged. the judge who sentenced these men to death said that such kind of death verdicts will be a preventive example for those who want to do such things in future. but shouldnt that actually be the rapid execution of court verdicts that should set an example? there should be some special arrangements and special exceptional rules for such terrorist attacks, with the help of which quick verdicts can be announced.

government is taking super safe steps in guarding kasab in prison, but if he too remains alive (after the death penalty that will definitely be given to him even by supreme court), then what will people feel?

Read in Gujarati

The young Pakistani gunman, Ajmal Kasab, unexpectedly confessed Monday to taking part in the November attack that paralyzed India’s financial capital and killed 166 people.

Mumbai gunman Ajmal Qasab

The court had delayed a decision on whether to accept his confession and guilty plea, with prosecutors arguing that his statement was incomplete and accusing Kasab of seeking clemency.

In response, Kasab said he was willing to be hanged for his actions.

Judge M.L. Tahiliyani decided Thursday to accept Kasab’s confession, but he ordered the trial to continue because the accused did not address all 86 charges against him.

“The trial will proceed,” he said.

Kasab’s confession linked the attack to a shadowy but well-organized group in Pakistan. The statement bolstered India’s charges that terrorist groups across the border were behind the well-planned attack, and that Pakistan is not doing enough to clamp down on them.

After the judge made his ruling, defense lawyer Abbas Kazmi asked to be recused from the case saying that his client had no faith in him.

“If he has no confidence in me, there is no sense in me continuing in the case,” he said.

The judge urged Kazmi to remain on the case and told the lawyer and defendant to discuss their relationship during a recess.

Chief Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had tried to get Kasab’s confession thrown out, saying it was neither complete nor accurate.

Kasab admitted spraying gunfire into the crowd at Mumbai’s main train station, and described in detail a network of training camps and safe houses across Pakistan, revealing the names of four men he said were his handlers.

He denied killing four Mumbai policemen whose deaths remain touchstones of grief and anger in India.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Islamabad was waiting for copies of the confession, but he said it would not impede the ongoing effort at dialogue between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The court has issued arrest warrants for 22 Pakistanis accused of conspiring in the attack.

I was not very keen to take up this case. On November 26, I saw the event on television. It was a shocking affair. The entire city was held to ransom. A few gunmen were killing innocent people. I never thought ultimately I will have to defend someone involved in that. I was appointed as Kasab’s lawyer only on April 16.

The special court began trial in the jail premises on April 15. Out of curiosity, I had gone to see the court and what the security is like. Anjali Waghmare [Images] was appointed as Kasab’s lawyer. For some reason, she was divested of the case. I have appeared before Jusitce M L Tahilyani in the Gulshan Kumar murder case.

On that day in a meeting with the honourable judge and other members of the bar, I said that if no lawyer is coming forward to take up the case only then the court may consider me.

All of a sudden, out of blue, I was appointed by the respected judge. Kasab was merely informed about it.
…
What we see and what we believe and what is the fact are different things. The court trial is always an endeavour to bring the truth to the surface. The common man is not aware of the provisions of the law. The legal provisions only an advocate can bring before the honourable court.

Our law is such that the prosecution has to prove the case. Every accused person is presumed innocent until found guilty in accordance with the law. So, I have started on a clean chit that he is an innocent person.
…
Some Indian press persons contacted me who have connections with the Pakistan press. Geo (the Pakistan television channel) and Dawn newspaper wanted to contact me. I strictly said not to give my numbers. I don’t want to be in touch with the Pakistan media.

It’s a simple reason. If the Indian press writes anything which is not true I can go to court against them. If they write something attributing it to me and if it’s incorrect I can send a legal notice. I have some control over them.

If the Pakistani papers write something and a dispute arises, I have no legal option or any control over them.
…
Yes, people carry the hatred. But we have to educate people. We as a civilised nation do not believe in mob lynching. We can’t catch a guy and bring him to the Gateway of India [Images] and hang him.

We are being watched by the entire world. We have to show the world that India is a just nation and the rule of law prevails here. We have given a fair trial to so-called terrorists. We should have the patience for it.

Rediff also ran an interview with the public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam. Excerpts below.

I take it as a challenge. I am not only establishing that Kasab killed many innocent people, but that the attack was due to a criminal conspiracy hatched in Pakistan. I will like to establish with the help of irrefutable inference, logical deduction and other documentary evidence that certain groups in Pakistan are still plotting terrorist activities in India.
…
I came to know about appointment through the media. Normally, the government takes consent before announcing it. For the first time in history my name was announced in the Maharashtra assembly.

I am not boasting, but the chief minister, home minister and even Opposition leaders agreed on my appointment. All politicians know that I am not going to bow down to any pressure.
…
My job is not only to prove the guilt of the accused. I am representing society at large. I am not the spokesman of the police. My duty is to assist the court in the administration of justice.

Being a responsible public prosecutor it is my duty to assess the evidence collected by the investigating agency, to submit before the court and to find out what is the truth.

In the process if I find that there is something lacking in the investigation then I can instruct the investigating agency to probe the matter further.

A special court on Wednesday rejected the plea of prime accused in Mumbai terror attack case, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, for allotting the Urdu translation of the 11,000-page chargesheet, noting that it was “immaterial”.

However, Judge M L Tahilyani, granted time to Kasab’s lawyer S G Abbas Kazmi, till May 2, to submit arguments on the charges proposed by the prosecution against the accused.

The court did not agree with the defence lawyer that Kasab needs to understand chargesheet to prepare his defence. “Not all instructions of an accused are based on the chargesheet. This document (chargesheet) is mainly for the understanding of advocates. Hence the prayer to supply copy of chargesheet in Urdu is rejected,” the judge noted.

Sporting a clean shaven look, Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab on Tuesday demanded he be given an Urdu copy of the voluminous chargesheet against him in the 26/11 attack and wanted one month to study it. Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist in the Mumbai terror attack, moved separate applications to this effect through his lawyer S.G. Abbas Kazmi before Special Judge M.L. Tahilyani shortly after the days’s proceedings began.

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam objected to the applications saying defence lawyer Kazmi was well-versed in Hindi, Marathi and English and could explain the contents to his client Kasab.”This is nothing but a delaying tactic on the part of the accused to prolong the trial,” Nikam argued.

Kazmi countered that he had been handed over the chargesheet running into over 11,500 pages just four days ago and needed time to study it. “Only after reading it can we plan out the defence strategy. Even the lawyer for another accused has sought time on similar grounds,” Kazmi said.

Lawyer Aejaz Naqvi, representing suspected Lashker-e-Taiba activist Sabahuddin Mohammed, filed an application seeking to know how the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was permitted to interrogate his client.
…
Nikam filed an application seeking an inquiry into the exact age of Kasab after his claim last week that he was below 18 and hence, a juvenile. Moving the application, Nikam said since the charges against the accused Kasab, Fahim and Sabahuddin were due to be framed soon, it was imperative to finally decide and arrive at Kasab’s correct age.

“We have solid evidence to prove that he is 21, but we want the matter to be properly inquired and disposed of to enable the framing of charges without further delay,” Nikam said.

Tahilyani reserved his rulings on all the applications till Wednesday.

If you want to, you can trace back the history of the trial from the report on Day 4.

1. IBNLive invites Ujjwal Nikam and Abbas Kazmi (prosecution and defense respectively of Ajmal Kasab) for a chat :

CNN-IBN: Mr Kazmi, the accusation is not just of delaying but also Kasab saying he was under 18 years of age despite prosecution documents pointing to the contrary.

Abbas Kazmi: It is clear with the way he is behaving that he is a juvenile [WTF Alert 1]

CNN-IBN: Mr Kazmi, no juvenile goes around shooting people. He is a terrorist. Give him a fair trial but cooperate with prosecution and get this case wrapped up in time.  [WTF Alert 2]

While on IBNLive, did you know that Rajdeep Sardesai and Barkha Dutt were recipients of the Padma Shri last year ? Somehow bloggers let this news be.

2. Good sense and politics still evades Sanjay Dutt :

Sanjay Dutt : During the rally in Pratapgarh, Dutt allegedly said he “will give ‘jaadu ki jhappi and pappi’ (magical hug and kiss) to the chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati”.

(Dream sequence) Mayawati : Zeher hai ke pyaar hai tera chumma.

3. Karunanidhi on LTTE supremo Prabhakaran :

“Is Prabhakaran a terrorist? No, I don’t see it that way. Prabhakaran is my good friend. I am not a terrorist. I will deeply regret it if Prabhakaran is killed. I will regret it. I will say it happened because of a lack of unity among the Tamil groups in Sri Lanka.  Some people in Prabhakaran’s group might be involved in terrorism. But that is not Prabhakaran’s fault.”

Yeah last heard innocent Prabhakaran was sucking on a lollipop and riding around on his tricycle. Sitting behind was an unknown kid with dark glasses for unexplained reasons.

4. Hema Malini while campaigning for BJP :

Vote for BJP, ye Basanti ki izzat ki sawal hai: Hema

Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani, is charged with 12 offences, including murder and waging war against India.

His new laywer said the 21-year-old would be pleading not guilty despite previously making a confession.

Abbas Kazmi said the confession, made to a local magistrate while he was in police custody, was “extracted out of coercion and force and it was not a voluntary confession”.

In court, the prosecutor called the attacks “a criminal conspiracy hatched in Pakistan to attack India.”

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said at least one Pakistani military officer was involved in the attack and its sophistication suggested the involvement of Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency.

Kasab faces the death penalty if convicted of taking part in the attacks, which left more than 160 people dead and hundreds more wounded.

Court officials say they hope the case will be finished in six months to a year – which would be extremely fast by the standards of major Indian trials.