Pakistani terrorist, Ajmal Amir Kasab, charged with the deaths of 166 Indians and foreigners, has been pronounced guilty of all charges by a special court in Mumbai. The two Indians, who were named as co-accused in the case-- Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Shaikh, have been acquitted.
The argument on quantum of sentence to Kasab will be held tomorrow.
Kasab has been convicted on all 86 charges against him. He was found guilty or murder and waging war against the nation, the court said while delivering the judgment.
"You have been found guilty of waging war against India, and killing people at CST (train station), killing government officials and abetting the other nine terrorists," Judge M.L. Tahaliyani said as he announced his verdict. They were the most serious charges laid against Kasab, a 22-year-old Pakistani who was arrested after the Mumbai siege.
The conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan, the judge said.
The two Indian co-accused were set free because the evidence against them was weak, the court ruled. Kasab had said that the duo supplied maps of Mumbai to LeT bosses. Thus, they gave logistical support to carry out the attack. But the judge, punching a hole in the prosecution’s argument, said better maps were available on Google than the crude drawings Kasab claimed had been supplied by Ansari and Sabauddin.
This verdict is the biggest terror trial the city has witnessed in recent times. Ten Pakistani terrorists sneaked into Mumbai on 26th November 2008 and unleashed 60 hours of mayhem that left 166 people dead and 244 injured. The terrorists had targeted several sites such as the World Heritage Building of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, Hotel Oberoi-Trident, Cama Hospital and the Chabad House, a Jewish prayer centre and Leopold Cafe, a favourite among foreigners.
The witnesses included many survivors of the terror attacks, eyewitnesses, family members of the victims, police officials, several foreign nationals, Indian security officials and officials from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
There was extremely tight security around the court premises as the verdict was being delivered. Some reporters were allowed inside court, however, use of mobile phones or any other devices was strictly prohibited.
The prosecution had gathered a heap of evidence against Kasab and presented strong arguments that are capable of sending him to the gallows. Special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam charged Kasab with not just the criminal acts of killing and injuring scores of innocent people, but termed him guilty of the entire conspiracy that went into planning and executing the dastardly attack.
Nikam 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 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 prosecution's main argument had been that Kasab is a cold-blooded killer whose guilt has been established both through human accounts of the night of November 26, 2008, as well as forensic evidence in the form of DNA reports.
The case against Ansari and Shaikh revolved 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.
In his defence, Kasab had maintained that he was an innocent Pakistani who was picked up several days prior to the attack. He has insisted that the terrorist caught on CCTV is not him but a lookalike. He also rubbished all witness testimonies as tutored and given at the behest of police officials.
Both Ansari and Shaikh had 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.
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