Kasab’s quantum of punishment to be decided on May 6

MUMBAI - A Mumbai Special Court on Tuesday fixed May 6 as the date to announce the quantum of punishment to Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Earlier, Mumbai Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam formally demanded the death penalty for Kasab, who was found guilty of waging war against India.

Nikam said that Kasab wanted to inspire others to take part in fidayeen or suicide attacks.

He also called Kasab a killing machine manufactured in Pakistan.

The court-appointed defence lawyer for Kasab, K P Pawar, is now expected to seek leniency for his client.

On Monday, it pronounced a verdict in a courtroom at the Arthur Road Jail here. Judge M L Tahiliyani declared Kasab guilty of all 86 charges filed against him.

The charges against Kasab include waging war against India, murder, abetting to murder, attempt to murder, violation of the Arms Act, Explosives Act, the Unlawful Activity Prevention Act (UAPA) and others.

However, in an unexpected move, the court found two Indian co-accused-Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed - not guilty and said they must be acquitted of all charges due to lack of evidence.

For the first time in Indian judicial history, it was established in a court of law that Pakistan was involved in an act of terrorism and of waging war against India.

Judge Tahiliyani said the way the ten terrorists countered the elite National Security Guards (NSG) clearly established that they were trained to fight a war.

Though no direct evidences were mentioned against Lashkar-e Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed and Zakir -ur -Rehman, the court found them guilty based on Kasab’s confessional statement.

The court also accepted Kasab’s confessional statement.

The court also said the DNA test conducted on the seven dead terrorists matched prints collected from the boat ‘Kuber’.

It said the evidence proved that Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte had died of a bullet fired by terrorist Abu Ismail, while it was not established who killed Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare and encounter specialist Inspector Vijay Saluskar.

The trial, perhaps the fastest in a terror case in India, commenced on May 8, 2009.

Judge Tahaliyani recorded 3,192 pages of evidence after examining 658 witnesses on 271 working days. Thirty witnesses in the court identified Kasab as the man who had opened fire on them.

Nikam submitted 1,015 articles seized during investigations. He had also filed 1,691 documents to support the case.

He had also argued that Pakistan’s security apparatus was used by the terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

The 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, the Times of India building, and the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels.

Photographs of Kasab shot by photojournalists Sebastian D’souza and Sriram Vernekar were also placed before the court.

Kasab is a native of Faridkot, in Pakistan’s Punjab Province.

He along with nine other terrorists, who were killed during the gun battle with security forces in Mumbai have been charged with killing 166 people, including 25 foreigners. (ANI)