Ajmal Kasab was hanged, but there are four other trials that need to be expedited to bring the real masterminds of the 26/11 attacks to justice. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju has once again appealed to the president and the prime minister of Pakistan to release Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh who is on death row for over two decades.
Minister of State for Home R P N Singh has termed Ajmal Kasab's hanging as the triumph of Indian judicial system.
"Frankly speaking, we have allowed rule of law to prevail (in the case of Ajmal Kasab). Similarly, we hope rule of law will be followed in Pakistan. There is not vast difference between the criminal procedures in India and Pakistan," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told media persons in New Delhi.
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa outlines the final moments of Ajmal Kasab who was hanged to death in the Yerwada Jail in Pune early Wednesday morning
Also known as truth serum, it has been used for solving crucial cases in the past.
The execution of 26/11 gunman Ajmal Kasab and the arrest of 26/11 handler Abu Jundal came as a silver lining to the dark terror cloud in 2012, reports Vicky Nanjappa
Pakistan on Saturday said that an anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of the seven Pakistani suspects charged with involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks needs to validate lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab's statement as it forms a key part of the case. "We made the statement of Ajmal Kasab as the base (of our case) but our courts require validation of his statement and we have written about this to India," Interior Minister Rehman Malik said.
'While Kasab was helpful in the investigation of the 26/11 terrorist attack, he was of no use in detecting and neutralising Lashkar's sleeper cells and the Indian Mujahideen.'
'As Rana is not an Indian citizen, our leverage on the US system -- whether it's their judiciary or the executive -- is very limited in that sense.'
During Tuesday's hearings in the high-profile 26/11 case, key accused Ajmal Kasab's counsel K P Pawar went full throttle, steadfastly arguing why minimum punishment should be given for his client. Sheela Bhatt and Prasanna D Zore, who were in the court through the day, bring the dramatic day's proceedings alive.
Tributes were also paid at the places targeted by terrorists including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Cama and Albless Hospital, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, the Oberoi Trident, Nariman House, the Jewish community centre, and the memorial of ASI Tukaram Omble who was martyred while overpowering Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist who was captured alive.
A hangman, whose father had executed one of the killers of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, says he is willing to hang Mumbai terror attacks convict Ajmal Kasab if needed.
As Ajmal Kasab is sentenced to death, Tukaram Omble's family is still coming to terms with the loss. Abhishek Mande
Pakistan on Thursday reacted in a guarded manner to the death sentence handed down to its national Ajmal Kasab by Mumbai court for his involvement in the 26/11 attacks, saying its legal experts would study the detailed judgement.
A top Madhya Pradesh policeman on Tuesday shocked his audience when he hailed Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the Mumbai terror attack, as a good role model during his speech. Addressing a training camp in Indore, Inspector General of Police (Special Forces) Rajendra Kumar cited the example of Kasab, 21, to buttress his point about the importance of undergoing a good training. "If you are trained well, you can do anything," he said.
"Mudassir Lakhvi, the headmaster of a primary school in Faridkot, where Ajmal Kasab studied for three years told the court that he taught Kasab and he is alive," a court official said on Thursday.
India will allow Pakistan to provide legal assistance to Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving Mumbai carnage terrorist arrested, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday.
"I was forced to give my confessional statement to the metropolitan magistrate," Kasab on Tuesday told judge M L Tahilyani while recording statements under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
'True closure will come only when we as a people, as a civilisation, can relax in crowded, public places without fear, when the ugly metal detectors that greet us at the entrance of every single public space goes forever. That is a distant dream, towards realising which Kasab's sentence is but a baby-step.'
'The idea of subversive activities is so vague that it could include making fun of the government, being critical of the government.'
The heightened security measures for Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive during the terror siege on Mumbai in November last year, are causing inconvenience to people in the vicinity of Mumbai's Arthur Road jail. "People are being inconvenienced due to the security measures in place for Ajmal Kasab," Sachin Ahir of NCP said. Over 40,000 people living in the neighbourhood of the high security Arthur Road jail are facing problems due to the unprecedented security.
'There is no need to delay Kasab's execution, he should be shot dead publicly in Mumbai.'
Key plotters of the 26/11 have once again escaped arrest upon the advice of Pakistan's intelligence agency, Inter-Service Intelligence officers.
As Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 strikes, confessed to his role and named others involved in it, Pakistan on Monday said his statements are 'one-sided' and that it cannot take any action based on the confessions of a person who is 'under pressure.'
An eight-member Pakistani judicial commission team crossed into India from the Wagah border check post in Punjab on Saturday to conduct the much-delayed cross-examination of witnesses in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which claimed 166 lives.
Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist in the Mumbai attack, has confessed that the original plan was to carry out the attack on September 27. This was part of the confession made by Ajmal Kasab.
This is the second time that Rotawan, now 23 years old, has approached the court.
In India, the anniversary of 26/11 comes and goes with only the bare minimum of remembrance. We don't even bother very much about honouring those who acted with great bravery that day, rues Vir Sanghvi.
Uttam Ghosh offer his take on the Pragya Thakur controversy.
Mumbai police has received text messages warning of a '26/11-like' attack on the city from a phone number with Pakistan's country code and a person has been detained in this connection, officials said on Saturday.
Sultanpur, a village in Maharashtra with a population of around 1,000 and 600 houses, will now be known as 'Rahul Nagar' as the local residents have changed its name in memory of its native, who laid down his life while fighting terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008.
The ED made the submission before special judge Vikas Dhull while opposing Jain's plea seeking contempt proceedings against the agency for allegedly leaking the videos to the media.
India's National Investigation Agency is probing into his role in the 26/11 attacks carried out by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in 2008.
Makki and other LeT/JUD operatives "have been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalising youth to violence and planning attacks in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)," the sanctions committee said, providing a statement for the reasons of Makki's listing.
Among those who remembered the slain bravehearts, who fell to bullets of Pakistani terrorists while repulsing the deadly attack on this day 11 years ago, were their kin, politicians, government officials, sports persons and common citizens.
'I was put in an anda cell. No window, light or air. Only grills.' 'During the monsoon, water would seep. There were rats running around all the time.' 'We were forced to sleep under bright lights all the time. Those bright lights are never switched off.'
Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban could target Indian installations near the border areas, said Aditya Mishra, Inspector General (Frontier) of the Border Security Force.
He also said that when it comes to proscribing some terrorists, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has 'regrettably' been unable to act in some cases because of 'political considerations'.
'Kasab had told us he and the other terrorists had been warned that if they were caught, their families would vanish.'
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