26/11 chargesheet to be filed today

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 Amir 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 operatives 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 to 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,and Railway Act.

Over 200 people,including officials from the FBI,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 CrPC. It is expected to provide details of the training and orders given to the group as well as a reconstruction of the entire group’s journey from the time they left Karachi on November 22,2008,till Kasab was arrested by the police.

A 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.

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