26/11 court indicts some police officers for cowardice

Though the Mumbai police came in for praise for taking on the terrorists during 26/11 attacks, the special court which conducted the trial has criticised personnel of Azad Maidan police station, saying they acted in a "cowardly" manner and "ran away" instead of stopping the militants.

Though the Mumbai police came in for praise for taking on the terrorists during 26/11 attacks, the special court which conducted the trial has criticised personnel of Azad Maidan police station, saying they acted in a "cowardly" manner and "ran away" instead of stopping the militants.

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Instead of coming to the aid of Additional Commissioner Sadanand Date, who engaged the terrorists in a gunfight on the terrace of Cama Hospital and got grievously injured in the process, the officers from the police station possibly "ran away", Judge M L Tahaliyani said in the judgement, a copy of which was made available to PTI on Monday.

The police station is at a stone's throw from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Cama Hospital where Ajmal Kasab and his companion Abu Ismail killed scores of people.

After firing indiscriminately on the passengers at CST, Kasab and Ismail proceeded to Cama Hospital, and went up to the terrace.

Date had rushed to the hospital after instructing constable Suresh Kadam to go to the police station, collect some bulletproof jackets, weapons and ammunition, and come to the hospital.