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Mumbai
Police: Their
Finest Hour
The Trial &
Confession of
a Pak Terrorist
By
Dev Varam
In
less than two
months from now,
on 26 November
2009, Mumbai will
be observing,
with restrained
anger, the first
anniversary of
the worst-ever
terrorist attack
it has suffered
in the city's
history. Mumbai
has not forgotten
nor will ever
forget the brazen
attacks in which
nearly 180 people
were killed and
scores of others
injured. Right
now, Mumbai has
been reliving
the trauma, being
witness to the
on-going court
trial of Mohammad
Azmal Amir Kasab,
the lone surviving
terrorist from
a 10-member Pakistani
fidayeen suicide
squad that attacked
the city. Nine
terrorists were
slain in gun battles
with police and
security forces
during the siege
that lasted almost
four days. Hopefully,
Mumbai may see
the end of Kasab's
trial ahead of
26/11, 2009. And
most likely, the
verdict will be
severe and decisive.
If convicted of
the 86 charges
leveled against
him, which include
murdering scores
of people and
waging a war against
this country,
the 21-year-old
terrorist will
hang. For Mumbai
Police, capturing
Kasab alive has
been one of the
most significant
achievements in
its 150 years'
history; their
finest hour. This
single act has
helped India pin
down Pakistan
on the involvement
of terror groups
operating from
that country.
The historic
trial of the Pakistani
terrorist started
on 17 April 2009
and three days
later, the prosecution
submitted a list
of 86 charges,
including the
murder of 166
people. Prosecution
witnesses have
since identified
Kasab and testified
that he shot and
killed scores
of people at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Terminus (CST)
and Cama Hospital
on the night of
November 26. He
was also identified
as the man who
shot dead Assistant
Police Inspector
Tukaram Omble,
when the latter
overpowered the
killer, taking
in as many as
30 bullets at
a roadblock the
police had set
up to intercept
the terrorists.
As the trial attracted
global attention,
Mumbai police
submitted to the
special court
the most voluminous-ever
11,280-page charge
sheet against
Kasab and other
perpetrators whose
links were traced
to Pakistan-based
militant outfits,
including Laskar-e-Toiba
(LeT) and the
Pakistan Army's
notorious Inter
Services Intelligence
(ISI). In their
investigation,
Mumbai Police
were assisted
by several international
agencies.
A jail barrack
has been made
bomb-proof to
serve as a courtroom.
Iron girders were
used to build
a cage-like structure
around the barrack
to turn it into
an iron and steel
shell filled with
reinforced concrete
to thwart any
rocket or bomb
attack on the
courtroom. Police
also carried out
a massive drive
to verify the
credentials of
thousands of people
living in slums
that surround
the jail to ensure
security even
outside the jail.
In mid-April,
the government
appointed Abbas
Kazmi as defence
lawyer to take
up Kasab's case.
A few days later,
on 6 May, Kasab
pleaded not guilty
to the 86 charges
leveled against
him. In June the
special court
issued non-bailable
warrants against
22 absconding
accused including
Jamaat-ud-Dawa
(JuD) chief Hafeez
Saeed and chief
of operations
of Lashkar-e-Toiba,
Zaki-ur-Rehman
Laqvi.
A Dramatic
Confession
Even as the trial
progressed, in
a sudden development
on 20 July 2009,
Kasab, confessed
to his guilt,
admitted he was
a Pakistani and
narrated in chilling
detail the events
leading to the
boldest terror
assault India
has ever seen.
In a dramatic
twist to the case,
Kasab recounted
how he and his
associates undertook
the sea voyage
from Karachi to
Mumbai to strike
at 13 locations
in Mumbai on the
night of 26 November,
2008.
Kasab's sudden
and unexpected
confession took
Special Judge
M.L. Tahilyani
by surprise. He
started by addressing
the judge in Urdu:
"Sir, I want
to make a confession
in the court.
I plead guilty
to the crimes
for which I have
been charged.”
The special court,
however, said
that the trial
will continue.
Special Public
Prosecutor Ujjwal
Nikam said that
the court had
passed an order
saying that Kasab's
statement admitting
his guilt could
be used at an
appropriate stage.
Kasab's confession
included minute
details of his
role in the attacks
on the CST and
Cama & Albless
Hospitals. He
revealed in the
court names of
his Pakistani
handlers, including
Abu Hamza, Abu
Jindal, Abu Kafa
and Zaki-ur-Rehman
Lakhvi, who saw
the terrorists
off when they
boarded a ship
at Karachi.
Hamza, who Indian
intelligence agencies
believe was behind
the attack on
the Indian Institute
of Science in
Bangalore in December
2005, advised
them on how to
go about the terror
attacks, said
Kasab. He also
described how
he placed a bomb
in a taxi that
later exploded
at Mazagaon, a
south Mumbai area.
Naming Lakhvi
of the Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) as "the
masterminds"
behind the Mumbai
mayhem, Kasab
recounted how
he and his associate
Abu Ismail (who
was shot by the
police) went to
a CST public toilet
and assembled
one of the bombs
by installing
a timer on it
for use later.
He stunned the
courtroom by giving
details of his
encounters with
then Anti-Terrorist
Squad (ATS) chief
Hemant Karkare
and his associate
Vijay Salaskar
inside Cama and
how he and his
associate killed
them. It was in
the same firefight
that the terror
duo killed another
senior police
official, Additional
Commissioner of
Police Ashok Kamte,
before hijacking
a police jeep
and escaping toward
Girgaum Chowpatty.
At a roadblock
the two terrorists
were intercepted
by a police party
which killed Abu
Osmail and overpowered
an injured Kasab.
The siege of the
city that began
Nov 26 night finally
ended on the morning
of November 29
with the last
of the terrorists
getting killed
at the Taj.
Kasab described
how the entire
journey from Karachi
to Mumbai was
completed in four
different boats
at various locations
in the Arabian
Sea and how they
finally landed
in South Mumbai's
Colaba in an inflatable
rubber dingy.
Finally, they
hailed taxis to
go to different
locations that
night to carry
out the biggest
terror strike
on the country.
Kasab interspersed
his shocking confessional
with the statements
given by several
of the 124 witnesses
already examined
by Special Public
Prosecutor Ujjwal
Nikam to prove
his point.
All through his
confession, he
kept naming his
handlers and his
associate Abu
Ismail, who gave
detailed instructions,
maps, weapons
and other equipment
to the 10-member
group for the
terror attacks.
According to Nikam,
Kasab's confession
came after he
discussed the
entire issue with
his government-appointed
lawyer Abbas Kazmi.
"This is
a victory of truth,
and a victory
for the prosecution.
His confession
came all of a
sudden and he
has admitted to
all the crimes
against him,"
he added.
Young Kasab, who
admitted he was
21, was a member
of the Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT), a Pakistan-based
militant group
which was on the
terrorists' lists
of both India
and the United
States.
As the CCTV cameras
captured, Kasab
strode into the
CST premises,
wearing a designer
t-shirt and trousers
with pockets and
a backpack full
of ammunition,
along with an
accomplice, whom
Kasab named later
as Abu Ismail,
and together they
shot dead about
50 train passengers
there.
Kasab, whose surname
in Urdu meant
butcher indicating
his father's profession,
told investigators
that he hailed
from Faridkot
in Pakistan's
Punjab region.
He said he was
recruited by the
LeT and was given
commando training
by a former Pakistani
military officer.
Pakistan denied
he was its citizen
but conceded the
fact later.
Kasab told police
that the gunmen
took orders by
phone from two
LeT operations
chiefs - Zaki-ur-Rehman
Lakhvi and Yusuf
Muzammil the former
was designated
a terrorist by
the United States
and the latter,
India says is
the head of LeT's
anti-India operations.
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