Prosecution sees larger motive in Kasab's confession

Prosecution in the 26/11 terror attack case today refused to accept completely the lone surviving terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab's confession of his role and said he was not telling the whole truth.

Prosecution in the 26/11 terror attack case today refused to accept completely the lone surviving terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab's confession of his role and said he was not telling the whole truth.

HT Image

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam submitted before the trial court the Kasab has not made full disclosure in his confession and thus the prosecution should be allowed to submit evidence against him and the other accused in the case.

"Kasab is not telling the whole truth. He has cleverly minimised his role and has done it to get lesser punishment or save his handlers in Pakistan," Nikam argued.

Nikam said there was a provision in Pakistan Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that allows for evidence gathered outside their country to be submitted in a court there.

"Kasab is very smart and intelligent to say that he be given the death penalty because no court will send him to the gallows if major role of his participation in the crime is discarded," Nikam said.

Through his confession, Kasab is trying to claim he played a subordinate role to slain terrorist Abu Ismail, he said. "We can accept his confession only to two incidents --(Mumbai) CST firing and the theft of Skoda vehicle," the Public Prosecutor said.

"Kasab has not accepted his role in all the other incidents like the firing in Cama Hospital, the attack on a police jeep outside Cama Hospital and the encounter with police at Girgaum Chowpatty," Nikam said.

He further argued that several witnesses have identified Kasab as the one who was firing at Cama Hospital and at the police jeep thus killing ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar.

Nikam also told the court that there were several contradictions in the confession and the statement given by Kasab before a magistrate on February 18.

In the confession before the Magistrate, Kasab said that after robbing the Skoda vehicle, Ismail told him that they were going to Malabar Hill in South Mumbai.

"However, while admitting his guilt before the special court, Kasab has said that Ismail was lost and did not know where they were supposed to go," Nikam said.

He also said that before the Magistrate Kasab had revealed that the two other arrested accused -- Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed -- had prepared maps of Mumbai and had handed them over to Pakistani handlers.

However, before the special court Kasab has not once taken the names of Ansari or Ahmed, the prosecutor said.