Mumbai: The trial of 26/11 accused Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab has begun in a high-security Mumbai prison. So far the trial has seen high drama with defense lawyer Anjali Waghmare being appointed and removed. Now with a new lawyer in place, the trial has finally started.
The trial began with the prosecution opening its case against arrested gunman Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab and two others.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujwal Nikam opened the arguments against Qasab, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed for their alleged involvement in the 26/11 attack case.
The prosecution said before the court that Qasab's idea was to wage war against India and capture Jammu and Kashmir.
The prosecution also hinted at the involvement of the Pakistan Army.
"26/11 is not just an attack on Mumbai. It is a conspiracy against India," said the prosecution.
Nikam said that Qasab had admitted he was asked to kill American, British and Israeli citizens.
Ujwal Nikam had on Thursday said that he would tell the court how he intended to prove the accused guilty.
"We will tell the court how we intend to prove the guilt of the accused," Nikam had said on Thursday.
And with that, Ujjwal Nikam set the ball rolling.
"It is the job of the prosecution to unravel the case. We will deal with it as it comes out in court and figure out how to respond," said Qasab's lawyer Abbas Kazmi.
If time permits, the court will frame the final charges and ask the accused how do they plead - guilty or not guilty.
PTI adds:
The prosecution in the 26/11 case has sought for Qasab to be charged under 166 separate counts of murder along with the two other accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed.
Nikam told the special sessions court that Qasab is responsible for the murder of 166 persons who lost their lives in the three-day terror carnage on November 26 and thus the charge under Section 302 of IPC is required to be framed against him 166 times.
"Even though Qasab was actually not present at the time of the firing incidents in hotels Taj and Trident, and Nariman House, he can be held liable for the murders as one of the co-conspirators," Nikam said.
Qasab is currently lodged in a high-security special cell in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, Mumbai where he is being guarded round the clock by a strong posse of nearly 300 special commandos of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.
The trial is long awaited since the Mumbai police filed a voluminous charge sheet of over 11,000 pages. Qasab, who on Thursday got a new lawyer S G Abbas Kazmi, has asked for a Pakistani lawyer to defend him after the judge on Wednesday removed Anjali Waghmare as his counsel on a complaint of professional misconduct.