Ashutosh Gowariker is all set to direct Kantara actor Rishab Shetty in a Hindi-Kannada bi-lingual based on a historical figure.
Noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who is among four persons nominated to Rajya Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu, on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him to inform and spoke in Marathi.
The Maharashtra government has appointed special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam to represent it during the trial of 13/7 Mumbai triple blasts that claimed 27 lives and left several others wounded.
Maharashtra government has decided to continue with Ujjwal Nikam as the special public prosecutor in 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab's case which would soon come up before the Bombay high court for confirmation of the Pakistani national's death sentence.
Nikam has replaced two-time MP Poonam Mahajan, who is the daughter of the late BJP stalwart Pramod Mahajan.
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.
Investigating agencies have gathered enough evidence to show that Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive in the Mumbai terror attack, was part of a criminal conspiracy hatched in Pakistan, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam has said. Nikam, appointed a special public prosecutor to handle the 26/11 case, said the chargesheet would be filed in a special court in the next couple of days.
'We know the reason behind it. We also know who is behind the curtain (in prompting Kasab to withdraw his confessional statement), says Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
Lawyer Ujjwal Nikam says that while justice has been delivered to some victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, their conspirators are still hiding in Pakistan. He criticizes Pakistan's handling of the trials of those arrested and calls for action against masterminds like Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
Describing Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed as "co-conspirators" in the 26/11 attacks, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Wednesday told the Bombay high court that the trial court had erred in acquitting the duo by giving them the benefit of doubt.
David Coleman Headley, who pleaded guilty before a United States court on Thursday night, cannot be impleaded in the 26/11 trial going on in Mumbai as it is nearing completion, but he can be put on trial in Pakistan, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said on Friday. However, he said, Pakistani-American Headley's admission of guilt before a US court has strengthened the Mumbai terror attacks case, which is being heard in a special court.
The retraction of confession by Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist arrested during the terror strike in Mumbai last year, will not have any effect on the ongoing trial in the case, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told mediapersons on Friday.Nikam made the comments in the wake of Kasab -- who deposed for the first time today -- claiming that he was arrested by the Mumbai police days before the 26/11 terror strike and his confessions had been taken by force.
With the Supreme Court upholding the death sentence of Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, Pakistan should now expedite the trial in their court, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Wednesday said.
This is how Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam responded to the confirmation of death sentence to Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks by the Bombay high court.
The prosecution in the 26/11 terror attacks case on Thursday sought imposition of a compensation on Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab for causing huge damage to property to the tune of Rs 155.73 crore during the attacks. But the court refused to consider the plea raising a query as to who would pay it.
The 26/11 terror trial is not only against Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab, who was caught alive, but also against the terror organisation Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which masterminded the Mumbai attacks, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said here on Wednesday.
A 26/11 prosecution witness is not traceable for last three months and all efforts to find him have gone in vain, a special court trying Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab and two others was informed on Tuesday.
Also, there are many other important aspects of evidence, which the prosecution has to adduce to expose terrorist infrastructure of perpetrators of the crime, he said, adding they will not let Kasab succeed in his 'motive' of escaping with lesser punishment.
The verdict of a United States court holding Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana not guilty of the Mumbai terror attacks would not affect the legal proceedings against terrorist Ajmal Kasab and the charge against Lashkar-e-Tayiba of masterminded the strikes, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said on Friday.
Dutt, convicted for illegal possession of an assault rifle and pistol, has applied under the Probation of Offenders Act seeking exemption from a prison term.
Former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, Kerala BJP leader C Sadanandan Master and Delhi-based historian Meenakshi Jain have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam informed media persons about Kasab's request at the end of the Monday's court proceedings.
"We have made remarkable progress since the trial began on April 15," special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told PTI. About 35 witnesses, including ballistic experts and legal experts and chemical analysts are expected to depose before the court this month, Nikam said.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam handed over a sealed envelope to Judge M L Tahiliani during the ongoing trial into the Mumbai terror attacks. He sought the judge's permission to keep the identities of six FBI agents, who are likely to depose during the trial, a secret.
A heated argument between Ponda and special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam over scheduling of arguments of the witnesses forced Ponda to withdraw from the high-profile case
A special court rejected the plea to make Pakistan-American terrorist David Headley a witness in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case on Monday after the prosecution argued that he is one of the accused and part of a module, which had filmed targets in the city.
"Yeh tumhara bhai hai kya (is he your brother?)," Nikam asked Kasab who was handed over a newspaper which carried the photograph of a suspect arrested in connection with Lahore attack on May 27, which left nearly 30 persons dead.
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.
It contained details from a telecom company on a threatening text message reportedly sent by his brother Pravin days before allegedly shooting him.
Special Public Prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case Ujjwal Nikam on Thursday expressed happiness over awarding of death sentence to Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab for the carnage, saying the verdict has delivered justice to the families of the victims.
The prosecution is all set to wind up the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case in a special court on November 26, coinciding with the first anniversary of the dastardly strikes that left 166 dead.
The prosecution is all set to close examination of terror evidences in the 26/11 special trial court in Mumbai on Wednesday, a year after the dastardly strikes that left 166 dead and 304 wounded.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Wednesday said that a Letters Rogatory shall be obtained from the special Mumbai court -- where the 26/11 terror attack trial is currently going on -- seeking information about Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives David Headley and Tahawwur Rana and their involvement in the terror strike.Letters Rogatory is 'a customary method of obtaining judicial assistance from abroad in the absence of a treaty or executive agreement between two countries.
Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab has complained to the 26/11 terror trial court that food given to him in jail is laced with tranquilisers but medical experts have said there is no truth in his allegations, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said in Mumbai on Wednesday.
He alleged that the ATS officials used a leather belt to torture him.
A Pakistan court declaring Ajmal Kasab an absconder and issuing a non-bailable warrant against him have proved beyond doubt that the gunman is a Pakistani and had taken part in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said Monday.
A Special Executive Officer (SEO) informed the trial court on Thursday, that in an identification parade conducted by him earlier this year, 28 witnesses had identified the bodies of terrorists killed by security forces during 26/11 terror attacks.
Statements of key witnesses in the 26/11 case in an anti-terror court in Mumbai will be forwarded by India to Pakistan to be used as evidence in the trial there, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said in Mumbai on Sunday.
Three US nationals are expected to give their testimony in the 26/11 terror attack case through videoconferencing while two Federal Bureau of Investigation officers are likely to appear in person before the special court in Mumbai on Wednesday.
'Kasab was never given mutton biryani.' 'What I had said was Kasab had asked for mutton biryani to be served in jail.'