Kasab to be shifted to Anda Cell

Chastened by the Bombay High Court verdict upholding the acquittals of Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed,the two alleged Indian operatives of Lashkar-e-Toiba,in the 26/11 case,senior Mumbai Police officers on Monday admitted that there was a lack of corroboration to prove the role of the two men in the terror attack.

Chastened by the Bombay High Court verdict upholding the acquittals of Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed,the two alleged Indian operatives of Lashkar-e-Toiba,in the 26/11 case,senior Mumbai Police officers on Monday admitted that there was a lack of corroboration to prove the role of the two men in the terror attack.

While the state has decided to go in appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court,the officers said the appeal would be fought on points of law and not evidence as there is nothing new to add.

It has also been decided that Ajmal Kasab,the lone Lashkar gunman captured alive during the carnage,will be transferred to Yerwada Jail in Pune once security at the Anda Cell there is beefed up and the facility is made bomb-proof,the officers said.

We were quite confident regarding Kasabs verdict, said Deven Bharti,Additional Commissioner of Police,Crime Branch.

On Ansari and Ahmed,we were hopeful that the acquittal will be turned down. The High Court while pronouncing the judgment said even though the witnesses statements against the accused were relied upon,they were not enough. We will read the judgment closely and take future steps after consultation with our prosecutors. To prove conspiracy remains a tedious and nearly impossible task. We had tried our best and we could not collect all the evidence, he added.

Meanwhile,senior officials said the state government had decided to move Kasab to Yerwada Jail in Pune now that his death sentence has been confirmed by the HC. Although no date for the move has been set,they said the decision had been taken even before the confirmation proceedings began in the High Court and work to upgrade security at the jail had been started.

The anda cell in Yerwada is the only confined prison space which is 200 m away from any other habitation in the state. The cell was last occupied by Khalistan militants Sukhdev Singh and Harjinder Jinda,who had been sentenced to death.

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Officials said Kasab was confined in Arthur Road Jail as the law states that a prisoner who is awaiting appeal has a right to hear the confirmation of capital punishment. They also felt the need to move him out of Arthur Road Jail as the monorail construction is progressing at a fast pace outside the jail and is considered a security risk.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police,which have been guarding Kasab in Mumbai,will move to Yerwada with him,the officials added.

Jail officials in Pune,however,denied any knowledge about the decision to shift Kasab to Yerwada.

We have not received any information officially or unofficially from the government to make preparations for Kasab at Yerwada Central Prison, said Sudhir Kingare,the deputy jail superintendent of the prison.

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S V Khatavkar,jail superintendent of Yerwada,said he was busy with some work in Delhi. He said he was not aware if Kasab was being shifted to Yerwada.