26/11 attack chargesheet to be filed today

Officials of the Crime Branch of Mumbai Police,who are getting ready to file the chargesheet in the 26/11 terror attacks on Wednesday,say the document will serve as an answer to all the questions on the attacks Pakistan has posed to the Indian authorities.

The officials have been working round-the-clock to compile the document,which is expected to attract international scrutiny.

“We will file the chargesheet tomorrow. All the 12 offences registered will be clubbed together,and answers to all the questions regarding investigations into the attacks will be available in the chargesheet,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria.

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Crime Branch sources revealed that the chargesheet will run into several thousand pages,as it deals with 12 different offences registered by the Mumbai Police in connection with the attacks.

The police will first file the chargesheet in the 37th Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court,and it will then be committed to the Special Sessions Court set up on Arthur Road Jail premises,as the charges applied can be tried by a Sessions Court which has the powers to deliver a death sentence or life imprisonment.

The chargesheet will be filed against Ajmal Ameer Kasab,the lone terrorist caught alive,and Lashkar-e-Toiba operatives Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed.

The police will also mention the list of wanted accused.  Top LeT functionaries such as Hafeez Syed,Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi,Abu Al Qama,Zarar Shah,Kahafa,Yusuf alias Muzammil,Abu Hamza,Hamad Ameen Sadiq,Mohammed Ashfaq,Javed Iqbal,and Mohammed Riyaz are expected to be some Pakistanis who will be named as wanted accused.

The accused will be charged under different sections of the Indian Penal Code such as murder,attempt to murder,waging war against the nation,theft,kidnapping and criminal conspiracy,as well as under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act,the Arms Act,Explosive Substances Act,Customs Act,and Railway Act.

Over 200 people,including officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation,are also likely to be named as witnesses in the case and their statements attached in the chargesheet.

The chargesheet will detail the entire terror conspiracy starting from the time it was hatched in Pakistan and the terror training provided to the 10 terrorists at camps in Muridke,Manshera and Muzaffarabad.  A vital part of the chargesheet will be the confessional statement of Kasab,recorded before a judge under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. It is expected to provide details of the training and orders given to the group as well as a reconstruction of the entire journey of the group from the time they left Karachi on November 22,2008,till Kasab was arrested by the police.

A huge chunk of the chargesheet will comprise documents pertaining to recoveries made from the terrorists,such as ballistic and forensic reports on their pistols,assault rifles,hand-grenades,improvised explosive devices,GPS sets,mobile and satellite phones,besides articles bearing Pakistani markings recovered from the vessel MV Kuber,and the 11-seater dinghy fitted with a Yamaha outboard motor used by the terrorists to reach Badhwar Park.

The police will also provide transcripts of conversations between the terrorists and their handlers in Pakistan which were intercepted in real time,as well as details of the New Jersey-based voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service Callphonex used by the terrorists for communication. Details of the payment made for the VOIP account through Western Union Money Transfer will also be provided in the chargesheet.