Mumbai:
Some of the National Security Guard (NSG) commandos who fought Pakistani terrorists during 26/11 will testify. The Mumbai High Court has rejected the government's request that NSG commandos should be exempt from the trial; however, it has accepted the government's guidelines for how the commandos should be questioned.
That includes: commandos will testify via videoconference, and their identities will not be revealed. They cannot be questioned on their strategy or the methods they followed to tackle the terrorists. Also, the media will not be allowed in court for these hearings.
The 26/11 case, in which Mohammad Ajmal Kasab is the main accused, is being heard by a special trial court in Mumbai. In October, this court summoned some commandos as witnesses, a move that puzzles even the state prosecution.
"We know the sensitive nature of the NSG. The court had asked for them to appear as court witnesses to understand what happened that day how the terrorists were killed. Their not appearing in court would not have impacted our case," says Ujjawal Nikam, Special Public Prosecutor, 26/11 trial.
The Union government had objected to the trial court's order, saying that it would affect the morale of the troops. Also, it pointed out, it's not possible to determine to pinpoint which commando killed a particular terrorist. It was a group operation, was the government's statement.
The government is expected to appeal against the verdict asking commandos to testify. But some former NSG commanders say there's nothing to fear. "NSG should not be queasy about testifying in a court. Even in Akshardham Operation, 2002, the NSG had deposed with the broad details of when it was deployed, what was the situation, arms recovery and terrorist killed," says A K Mitra, former NSG commander.
But others disagree. "It will compromise our future operations. The central government... should clarify that the NSG is a Federal anti-terrorist force and cannot be open to scrutiny," says Brigadier Raj Seethapathy, former Corps Commander, NSG.