Decision on Kasab to be pronounced shortly

Monday, May 3, 2010

Decision on Kasab to be pronounced shortly

Judge M L Tahaliyani will pronounce a verdict in the biggest terror trial the city has witnessed in recent times in a short while from now. In the box will be Ajmal Amir Kasab, the Pakistani gunman charged with the deaths of 166 Indians and foreigners. Along with him, his two Indian co-accused -- Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Shaikh -- will also know their fate.

The prosecution has gathered a heap of evidence against Kasab and presented strong arguments that are capable of sending him to the gallows. Special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam has charged Kasab with not just the criminal acts of killing and injuring scores of innocent people, but has termed him guilty of the entire conspiracy that went into planning and executing the dastardly attack.

Nikam has argued that Kasab is a highly trained and motivated member of the Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who underwent months of training in weapons and intelligence so he could execute the well-planned attack on Mumbai. Nikam has also relied on scores of witness testimonies in a bid to establish Kasab's role in the killing of innocents at CST and Cama Hospital, the gunning down of senior policemen in Badruddin Tyabji Lane and the final gunbattle at Marine Drive.

The case against Ansari and Shaikh revolves around Kasab's confession to magistrate R V Sawant Waghule in February 2009. Kasab had said that the duo supplied maps of Mumbai to LeT bosses. Thus, they gave logistical support to carry out the attack.

Both Ansari and Shaikh have denied all wrongdoing. Their main argument is why would the LeT rely upon crude maps allegedly supplied by them when far more sophisticated versions were easily available on the internet. After the arrest of American David Coleman Headley, they also argued that recce work for the attack was done by him and they had been framed needlessly in the case.

In September 2006, after 13 years of arguments, the Tada court had begun giving its verdicts in the 1993 serial blasts case. It was the last major trial in recent times.