Mumbai: Sixty-two hours of terror; One attacker held alive; An 11,000-page charge-sheet; 191 days of trial; 658 witnesses; 166 victims' families waiting for justice; 86 charges.
These are more than just numbers as Judgment Day is here for 22-year-old Pakistani national Ajmal Aamir Kasab - the face of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The Judge M L Tahaliyani has begun delivering judgement. (
Read: 26/11 trial: Key moments |
Kasab's flip flops)
Kasab, who faces a barrage of charges, from waging war against the nation, to murder and conspiracy, has been moved to court. Also in court are the Indian co-accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, who are charged with conspiracy. They are alleged to have prepared the maps of terror targets and passed them on to the LeT for execution of their diabolic plan. (
Read:What Kasab did to Mumbai |
Mind of a terrorist)
If held guilty, they may face the death penalty. But will have the right to appeal in the Mumbai High Court. (
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Stacked up against Kasab are eye-witness testimonies, CCTV footage, photographs, mobile records and forensic evidence. Yet, it's not his involvement alone that the prosecution has fought to establish, but the Pakistan link too. (
Listen:How Pak remote controlled 26/11)
Ujjwal Nikam, the Public Prosecutor for the 26/11 trial, says special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam says the focus must be on the larger picture, "Not only from Kasab's evidence but also from other circumstantial evidence one can draw irrefutable and irresistible inference that some Pakistani army persons are involved in this place...David Headley has also admitted same thing, naming certain Pakistani Army people. So one thing is very clear that the security apparatus in Pakistan is behind the attack on 26/11.'' (Watch: My aim was to prove Pak hand: Ujjwal Nikam)
Though Kasab's turnarounds have surprised few, this largely open-and-shut case is a landmark in more ways than one. Catching a terrorist alive while he was attacking, piecing together the terror puzzle and then winding up the case within a year have been significant achievements.
But the biggest setback, perhaps, that the masterminds are still at large.
For today, the focus is on Ajmal Kasab. This is the man the nation saw gunning down innocents. He may be a foot soldier in the larger plot, but his conviction is at least a symbolic justice.
Kasab, a native of Faridkot, Punjab, has been charged with killing 166 people, including 23 foreigners and injuring 304 others at the instance of Lashkar-e-Toiba, and along with nine slain terrorists.
An Indian duo - Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed - are accused of conspiracy. They are alleged to have prepared the maps of terror targets and passed them on to the LeT for execution of their diabolic plan.
If held guilty, they may face the death penalty.
Ten terrorists, trained and armed by the outlawed LeT in Pakistan, had descended on India's financial nerve centre on a 'Fidayeen' (suicide) mission and wreaked havoc during the 62-hour siege, killing and wounding people at will.
The trial, perhaps the fastest in a terror case in India, had commenced on May 8 in a special court set up at Arthur Road Jail which recorded 3,192 pages of evidence after examining 658 witnesses on 271 working days.
Thirty witnesses in the court of Tahaliyani identified Kasab as the man who had opened fire at them.
The prosecution, led by Ujjwal Nikam, had submitted 1,015 articles seized during investigations and filed 1,691 documents to support its case. The prosecution had also argued that Pakistan's security apparatus was used by LeT in the November 26, 2008 attacks.
For the first time in the Indian legal history, FBI officials deposed to give technical evidence that the killers came from Pakistan using Global Positioning System and that they made calls from their mobile phones through Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) to stay in touch with their handlers across the border.
Prosecution also tabled CCTV footage of the terrorists moving about with guns and firing at people. The images were captured on CCTV cameras fitted at CST railway station, Times of India building, and Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels. (Pics: Mumbai attacked | Bravehearts | In memory)
Photographs of Kasab shot by photojournalists Sebastian D'souza and Sriram Vernekar were also placed before the court.
However, Kasab took the plea that these were morphed and that he was not the one shown in the stills.
Kasab is being held at a specially made bullet and bomb-proof cell in the high-security Arthur Road central prison. He was brought every day to the court in the jail premises escorted by 10 to 12 guards. Since the trial began, 200 troops of Indo-Tibetan Border Police guarded him round-the-clock. (Read: On Verdict Day, tight security at Arthur Road Jail)
Kasab was captured alive on the first day of the attacks, and he confessed to his crime before a Magistrate in February last year spilling the beans about the conspiracy hatched in Pakistan and how they struck terror at various places in Mumbai, only to retract it as soon as the trial commenced.
Midway through the trial, Kasab took a U-turn, admitting partly his earlier confession, but diluting his role in the attacks and passing almost the entire blame on his accomplice Abu Ismael. Finally, at the end of the trial, he disowned all earlier versions and claimed innocence.
Seeking to obstruct the trial in the initial stages, Kasab claimed he was juvenile but the court rejected his plea after scientific evidence proved otherwise. The 11,000-page chargesheet filed on February 25, 2008 put his age at 21.
Kasab was represented by three lawyers. The first, Anjali Waghmare was removed on technical grounds even before the trial began as the court learnt that she had also appeared for a witness in the same case. Abbas Kazmi, who replaced her, was removed mid-way for not cooperating with the court.
K P Pawar, who then defended Kasab, continued till the end and pleaded that his client was innocent and was picked up by the police from Chowpatty a few days before the strikes.
According to prosecution, Kasab and his accomplices were given commando and intelligence training at a camp in Muridke in Pakistan by LeT chief Hafeez Sayeed and chief of operations Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.
The chargesheet alleged that the attackers sailed from Karachi in 'Al-Hussaini' boat, which they abandoned near Porbunder where they hijacked an Indian fishing trawler 'Kuber' to reach Mumbai.
On board Kuber, they murdered navigator Amarsingh Solanki and four sailors. Solanki's body was found in his cabin while those of others were dumped into the sea.
The prosecution produced DNA reports of Kasab to show that they matched with the articles found on Kuber.
After abandoning Kuber near Mumbai Coast, the attackers reached the shores in a dinghy (rubber boat) carried by them from Pakistan. They disembarked at Badhwar Park and fanned out in different directions in five batches of two each to shoot and kill.
The prosecution placed evidence to show that the Honda engine fitted on the dingy was of Japanese make and exported to Pakistan.
Terrorists opened fire at Hotel Trident-Oberoi, Hotel Taj Mahal, Nariman House (a Jewish outreach centre), Chhatrapti Shivaji Terminus, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital and Metro Cinema Junction. They also planted bombs in two taxis which exploded killing people.
Hundreds were held hostage in Hotel Taj, Oberoi and Nariman House where terrorists fought National Security Guards (NSG) and police for close to 60 hours before being killed.
The nine slain terrorists were identified as Abu Ismael, Abu Akasha, Abu Umar, Abdul Rehman Bada, Abu Umer, Abdul Rehman Chhota, Fahad Ullah, Javed Abu Ali and Abu Shoeb.
Kasab was captured at Girgaum Chowpatty following an encounter with the police after he and Ismael had killed several people at CST, in and outside Cama Hospital, and Metro Junction.
The terrorist duo's victims included Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, IPS officer Ashok Kamate and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar.
During the trial, the court issued non-bailable warrants against 27 absconding accused, including LeT's Lakhvi and Hafeez Saeed. They have not been arrested although the warrants have been served to the Interpol.
Fake identity cards were recovered from all the terrorists who had concealed their Pakistani identity by posing as Indian students.
Besides this, articles of daily use with "Made in Pakistan" markings were found on Kuber.
(With PTI inputs)
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