A Pakistani anti-terror court conducting the trial of seven suspects for their involvement in the 26/11 attacks accepted an application from the prosecution for Ajmal Kasab to be declared a fugitive and adjourned the case for a week on Saturday.
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The investigation, currently being conducted by the National Investigating Agency, has highlighted the possibility that David Headley -- the American citizen arrested last month in Chicago by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on terror charges -- may have involved a couple of women in his plans.
The acts of Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the terror siege in Mumbai, and the other accused in the 26/11 attack amounted to 'waging a war against India', which is punishable by the death penalty or life imprisonment, the prosecution argued in a trial court on Wednesday. "By firing at people indiscriminately in Mumbai, Kasab and the other conspirators wanted to destabilise the government and break political and economic order," said Public Prosecutor Nikam.
The Anti-Terrorism Court also observed that the statement of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving Mumbai gunman, could not be produced as evidence in the court, as it was not according to the guidelines set in the Article 43 of the country's penal code.
In a rare gesture, Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil on Tuesday attended the trial proceedings in the 26/11 terror attack case along with Minister of State for Home Ramesh Bagwe, in a special court in Mumbai.Patil's visit assumes significance in the wake of the prosecution opening its final arguments against Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the terror siege in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, and two Indian nationals Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed.
Arrested terrorist Tahawwur Hussain Rana may have been the one who had arranged for the fake student identification cards carried by Ajmal Kasab and nine other terrorists, who were involved in the Mumbai attacks in 2008, said intelligence sources.
Making it clear that it could not wait further for 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab to file an appeal against the trial court's order sentencing him to death for his role in the 26/11 terror attack, the Bombay high court on Monday said it would proceed with the confirmation of the death sentence from October 11 or October 18. Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the Pakistani terrorist had a threat perception and bringing him to court would be a great risk.
The real brilliance of this RSS campaign, therefore, lies in building a dominant power base with, and for, a mostly non-RSS leadership. That is why the rise of the BJP in Assam is their stand-out victory, says Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistani gunman Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, lone captured accused in Mumbai terror attack case, laughed in a special court on Wednesday when he was shown his photos taken on November 26 by a photojournalist.
Souces point out that Abdul Al-Hooti could have done more than just providing SIM cards which were used during the Mumbai attack. With evidence against Al-Hooti in the Mumbai attack increasing, the Indian agencies say that apart from interrogating Headley on these lines, they would also be building a case to seek Al-Hooti's extradition from Oman.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi led the delegation. She said Modi government was 'shutting down' people's voices and bringing legislations which are not acceptable to them.
A Pakistani court conducting the trial of Lashkar-e-Tayiba operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects in the Mumbai terror attack case on Saturday adjourned proceedings till May 22 after the prosecution sought more time to gain access to Ajmal Kasab, who was sentenced to death by an Indian court on Thursday. Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan of the Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court put off the case for two weeks after the prosecution filed an application.
The Maharashtra government has no immediate plans to shift Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, sentenced to death in the 26/11 attacks case, from the high-security Arthur Road jail to any other prison in the state.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday said the verdict against Ajmal Kasab in the Mumbai attacks case is a "clear message" to terror outfits in Pakistan and has proved that India can take strong action against criminals and terrorists.
Ajmal Kasab's execution, after he was sent to the gallows on Thursday, may not happen soon, but calls grew loud that he be hanged quickly, amid hopes that the Pakistani terrorist does not end up being on the death row 'waiting list'. Authorities were asked to show urgency in carrying out the death sentence awarded to the 22-year-old Pakistani terrorist. "I don't want any delay in hanging Kasab. I want fast track hanging of Kasab," said K Unnikrishnan.
The death sentence to Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani gunman of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, received wide coverage on Thursday in the US media, which for the past few days has been focused on the Times Square bomb case involving a Pakistani American.
Rediff.com provides a round up of the happenings outside Mumbais' special court in photographs.
"I am happy with the verdict of death being given to Kasab," said Eknath Omble, brother of assistant police sub-inspector Tukaram Omble, who died while trying to capture Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab, on the dreaded night of November 26, 2008.
Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist in the Mumbai terror attack who was held guilty on Monday, is a school dropout who saw Jihad as the purpose of his life.Kasab, the face of the devastating terror siege on Mumbai in which 166 persons were killed, took part in the bloodiest episode of the 60-hour siege that started on the night of November 26, 2008.
'It is not the individuals, but the system of propaganda and inducement of hatred that is to blame. And that suits the Pakistani establishment just fine: It sustains their failing State.'
Lone surviving Pakistani gunman of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks Ajmal Kasab on Monday occasionally gave irrelevant answers to questions asked by the special judge, who cut him short and advised him to reply correctly.
A special court will hear arguments on Tuesday on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab, who has been held guilty for the murder of 170 people in the 26/11 terror strikes in the financial capital of the country.
At a time when the US is finding it extremely difficult to deal with the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, within its judicial system, the way India has dealt with Kasab is reflective of the maturity of Indian democracy and its judicial system, notes Harsh V Pant.
Hours after an Indian court convicted Ajmal Kasab for involvement in the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh had told him that he trusted Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the carnage to justice.
For Lashkar-e-Taiba, Ajmal Kasab's conviction is nothing, but good news. At least that is what lawyers in Pakistan -- who defend the likes of Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi feel. "Kasab's conviction at Indian court means I have won the case of Lakhvi and other accused," a lawyer told rediff.com. Shahbaz Rajpoot, lawyer for Lakhvi and other accused said, "The verdict against Kasab has eased down my case, now there is no difficulty to prove my clients' innocence."
On the day of Ajmal Kasab's trial verdict, rediff.com's Nithya Ramani and Abhishek Mande visit the ill-fated hospitals and discover how staff members are coming to terms with 26/11
Fahim Ansari and Mohammad Sabahuddin Ahmed might have been let off by the Mumbai special court in the 26/11 terrorist attacks case on India's commercial capital, but they were clearly not off the hook in Uttar Pradesh, where cops were all set to nail them in an earlier attack on a Central Reserve Police Force camp in Rampur city, about 300 km from Lucknow.
Hailing the conviction of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab for the Mumbai terror attacks, Special Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Monday said the acquittal of two other accused in the case will be challenged in a higher court. "I am very happy (about the conviction of Kasab). But I regret the acquittal of two other accused Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed. The court has given them the benefit of doubt. We will challenge their acquittal," Nikam said.
Frequent U-turns by Ajmal Kasab marked the nearly year-long trial in the 26/11 terror attack case with the Pakistani gunman first confessing to his crime then retracting it before surprising all by making a guilt plea and then disowning his confession altogether.
Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani terrorist arrested during the 26/11 terror attack, betrayed no emotions as a special court on Monday pronounced him guilty on many terror-related charges, including waging war against the nation. Clad in his usual white kurta-pyjama, Kasab stood with his head bowed as Judge M L Tahilyani declared him guilty of the murder of 166 persons during the brazen terror stirke.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said that the conviction of Ajmal Kasab and the acquittal of two local accomplices in the Mumbai attack case shows India is governed by the rule of law but sends a message to Pakistan that it should not export terror. "The court has convicted certain accused. It also acquitted two accused. That shows the independence, fearlessness and integrity of the court," he told reporters while reacting to the judgment of a Mumbai court.
Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab, who was on Monday held guilty in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case, was given a fair trial, Maharashtra government said.
The 26/11 trial turned out to be a learning exercise for Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab as well judge M L Tahaliyani, both of whom evinced keen interest in Marathi and Urdu languages respectively.
Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab, convicted on Monday in the 26/11 terror attack case, may not be shifted from Arthur Road Prison for some time because of his 'high-risk' status and lack of comparable security in jails elsewhere in Maharashtra.
As sole 26-11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab awaits his fate, legal experts say that it may easily take upto a year before he could actually be hanged. If the sessions court or the special court decides to award him the death penalty, Kasab has three more options to fight his case.
Amid a general alert across Mumbai, a thick security blanket has been thrown in and around Arthur Road Jail where a special court will pronounce its verdict in the Mumbai terror attacks case tomorrow.
The perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack, who shot dead 166 people, had confessed to details that should have been enough to hang him, but Pakistan enjoyed his anti-India rhetoric and let him spread his tentacles. A revealing excerpt from Khaled Ahmed's Pakistan's Terror Conundrum.
Pakistan's request for access to Kasab was contained in its response to the three Indian dossiers provided to it during the February 25 Foreign Secretary-level talks in New Delhi, official sources told PTI.
The Pakistani court hearing the Mumbai terror attack case on Wednesday rejected the appeal for the acquittal of the seven suspects arrested in the case, including Lashkar-e-Tayiba's operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. The trial is being held at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.The court also turned down an application by lawyers of the seven accused.