Kasab to appear in court today

The lone gunman captured during the November Mumbai terrorist attacks will appear in person for the first time before a special court in Mumbai today. Police have increased security, regulated traffic and restricted movement of people in the vicinity of Arthur Road Jail where Ajmal Amir Kasab is lodged and where he will appear before the court, Times of India newspaper reported yesterday. Kasab has been earlier produced before the court through video conferencing. Special court judge M L Tahilyani had earlier said proceedings would begin in his court at the Arthur Road Jail. Tahiliyani had also directed the prosecution and defence lawyers to come prepared for the trial today. The trial, which was expected to start earlier in April, was delayed as construction work required for the special court was not complete. There were also unexpected problems over appointing a lawyer for Kasab, with Hindu rightwing activists threatening a state-appointed lawyer. Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Naseem Khan inspected the high-security jail yesterday evening. Khan expressed satisfaction with the security and arrangements for the trial. “Our intention is to ensure that the trial proceeds without any further delay and the outcome is known in the shortest possible time,” Khan said. The jail complex, situated in the heart of the congested south Mumbai, is guarded by a three-tier security network consisting of the Mumbai police, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the jail’s own security. Khan said the intention of his visit was to ensure that people living in the area were not inconvenienced due to the high-profile trial. Kasab, allegedly a member of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organisation, was reported to be part of a 10-member group that mounted attacks in Mumbai for three days beginning November 26. He was captured hours after the assault. More than 195 people were killed in the terrorist action. Kasab is facing charges of waging war against the nation and murder. Two Indian nationals who are accused along with Kasab will also face trial. Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed are charged with doing a reconnaissance of the Taj Mahal and Trident hotels and the railway station which were the terrorists’ targets. They had allegedly prepared maps and gave them to the LeT. The police filed a 11,000-page charge-sheet against 38 people including Kasab. A total of 2,202 witnesses have been identified but it is not yet clear how many will be called to testify. The charges allege key planners of the assaults included Pakistan-based LeT leaders Hafeez Sayyid, Fahim Ansari, Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah. These men were located in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir and have been listed in the charge-sheet as “wanted absconders.” In a related development, India yesterday reiterated that enough evidence had been given about the involvement of elements from Pakistan in the Mumbai attacks and it was now for Islamabad to act. “We have given enough information to act. It is for them to get their act together,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in New Delhi. Home Minister P Chidambaram was more forthcoming, even suggesting that if Pakistan were not in a position to interrogate those India has blamed for the Mumbai attack, it should permit India to do so.

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