26/11 trial: 109 witnesses hold key

Special public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam informed special sessions judge ML Tahilyani about the witnesses and said that intelligence agencies had received inputs that these witnesses could be under threat. He requested the court to direct the media to conceal their identities. The prosecution also informed the court that it will be examining US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) experts who have played a vital role in analysing the evidence collected after the attack,which helped the Mumbai police in their investigations to prove the Pakistani involvement.

Nikam read out the manner in which the attack unfolded after the terrorists landed on Mumbai’s shores,starting off with the killing of their navigator Amar Singh Solanki. He listed witnesses for each of the 12 major incidents that took place,including the killings at the Taj and Oberoi hotels and Nariman House. Stating that the barbaric acts of Kasab and his associate Ismail Khan continued as they gunned down three senior police officials,including the then ATS chief Hemant Karkare,senior police officials Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar,outside the Cama Hospital,he said he will be examining several policemen during the trial.

Nikam said Kasab and Khan were headed towards the posh Malabar Hill area,which was to be their next target,for which they used a police vehicle to reach the Vidhan Bhavan area and from there they carjacked a Skoda to reach Malabar Hill,but were intercepted near Chowpatty,where Khan was gunned down and Kasab was arrested. This fact was also corroborated in the confessional statement of Kasab,where he says that on coming out of CST he had asked Ismail where they were going. Ismail had replied that their target was in Malabar Hill,but he would reveal the exact location only on reaching there.

The prosecution has listed over 1,800 witnesses though it is unlikely to examine all of them. The prosecution will examine as many as possible to prove the conspiracy of the attackers,which was to wage a war with the Indian Government. “I will call only the strongest witnesses,” Nikam said.

The prosecution will also be examining various forensic experts who have verified the DNA reports of Kasab and other attackers. The Satphone conversations between the attackers and their handlers in Pakistan,which was established with the help of the FBI,will also form part of the evidence,Nikam said.

The court will also listen to the testimony of ‘panchas’ who stood witness to the seizure of articles related to the case,experts who performed post-mortem examinations,those who recorded the inquest panchnamas and other technical witnesses.

Notes from The Courtroom
New name for dinghy
The inflatable dinghy in which the terrorists reached Budhwar Park after leaving the hijacked fishing trawler M V Kuber had a Yamaha engine. Now,for easy reference in the court,the dingy is called a ‘Yamaha boat’. 

Against practice
Fahim Ansari’s brother had come to the court to seek more time to appoint a lawyer. He told the court that no lawyer was taking the case as it was pending in court. To which Judge M L Tahilyani said,“Case pending hai toh nahin lete,normally vakil fees lete hai,vakalatnama par sign kartein hai,phir clients ko ghumathey rehtein hai.