312 charges drafted against Kasab & Co

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said,“These charges are distinct. For each offence committed,a distinct charge has been made out after a thorough study of the entire evidence collected by the police.” The draft charges state the accused were all members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba,and between December 2007 and November 2008 they had entered into a criminal conspiracy and/or were members of the said criminal conspiracy whose object was to wage war against the Government of India.

Nikam said the objective of these terrorists was to organise camps in Pakistan to impart training to youths in handling arms,ammunition and explosives for attacking important locations in the metro cities in India,destabilise the government by engineering violence in various areas,weaken India’s economic might,kill foreign nationals in India to deter foreign citizens from either investing in India or keeping relations with India,and adversely affect harmony between Hindus and Muslims in India.

The draft charges that run into over 150 pages includes all the acts committed by the accused. The charges,Nikam said, are “not only to prove the case against Kasab but also with an aim to hit upon the root of terrorism being spread from Pakistan”.

The prosecution also read out evidence against Ansari and Ahmed,which is mostly based on the confessional statement of Kasab. The statement says,“While leaving Karachi for Mumbai,Kasab and his accompanying gunmen were given maps of Mumbai by LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and told that they were drawn by Ansari and Sabauddin. When asked why the duo was not joining them in the attack,Lakhvi told him that they were in custody in India for attacking a CRPF camp at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.”

The draft charges will be followed by the defence lawyers putting forth their arguments against the charges. The prosecution,in order to complete the trial at the earliest,will also be moving an affidavit under Section 296 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) wherein the defence can accept things that cannot be denied,like the killing of 166 people,injuring of 234,and property worth crores being damaged or destroyed. Through this move,the prosecution aims to cut down on the witnesses it would have to examine during trial to prove its case of murder and attempt-to-murder also levelled against the accused.

Nikam said,“The common man wants justice fast.”

Notes from The courtroom
Wasted effort
Accused Sabahuddin Ahmed asked for a pen and paper from the court so that he could note down the arguments and then discuss it with his lawyer,Ejaz Naqvi,who was not present in court. But Sabahuddin became the first accused to be sent back to the Anda cell and he couldn’t interact with his lawyer.

Better late than never
For almost a week,an under construction building across the road from Arthur Road Jail skipped the notice of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Mumbai police. Finally sensing the danger from the building,they were posted there with automatic weapons on Monday.

Hygiene counts
Judge M L Tahilyani took a round of his special courtroom inside Arthur Road Jail. He pointed out that the toilet meant for journalists and officers is very poorly kept. “It needs to be maintained regularly. If journalists have any complaints on the loo please tell Mr Nikam about it. He will then convey the message to me,” judge Tahaliyani said.