‘Cops staged encounter at Girgaum Chowpatty’

The defence in 26/11 attacks case on Wednesday alleged that the police had staged a fake encounter at Girgaum Chowpatty, where convicted Pakistani gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab was caught alive and his accomplice Abu Ismail was gunned down.

The defence in 26/11 attacks case on Wednesday alleged that the police had staged a fake encounter at Girgaum Chowpatty, where convicted Pakistani gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab was caught alive and his accomplice Abu Ismail was gunned down.

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Defence lawyer, Amin Solkar, pointed out to the Bombay High Court, from the testimony of a ballistic expert that some empties of the bullets fired from slain police officer, Ashok Kamte’s AK-47 rifle, which was purportedly snatched by Kasab and Ismail after killing the additional commissioner of police outside Cama Hospital, were found on the 18th floor of Hotel Trident.

“If the duo had snatched Kamate’s rifle outside Cama Hospital and sped towards Chowpatty, then how did the police find empties of the same rifle at Hotel Trident, which also witnessed a pitched battle between armed forces and terrorists, more so when Kasab was not at Hotel Trident?” Solkar said.

The lawyer, appointed by the high court to defend Kasab, pointed out that reports of ballistic experts had revealed that four empties of Kamate’s rifle were found on 18th floor of Hotel Trident, which was under attack by another pair of Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives.