Bid to try gunman for 166 murders

AFTER numerous delays and an embarrassing false start, the trial of the one surviving gunman from the Mumbai terror attacks began yesterday with the prosecution pushing for him to face 166 counts of murder and the defence claiming he should be tried in a juvenile court.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court in opening arguments that Mohammed Ajmal Kasab was part of a "criminal conspiracy hatched in Pakistan to wage a war to annexe Kashmir" when he and nine other gunmen launched a series of co-ordinated attacks on India's financial capital on November 26 last year.

"They had conspired to topple the administration -- the whole of India was targeted, not just Mumbai," Mr Nikam told the court, adding that at least one Pakistani military officer was involved in the attack and its sophistication suggested the involvement of the country's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

Pakistani officials have acknowledged the November attacks were partly plotted on their soil but have repeatedly denied their intelligence agencies were involved.

More than 170 people - including two Australians - were killed in the strikes by heavily armed and well-trained militants over three days.

Kasab is alleged to have opened fire on commuters at Mumbai's main railway station as well as at a nearby hospital. He is also accused of being a foot soldier for Lashkar-e-Toiba, a banned Pakistani militant group believed to have been behind the Mumbai attack and numerous recent strikes in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.

Kasab is already facing more than a dozen charges relating to the attacks, including conspiracy to wage war against India, terrorism and murder. He is likely to face the death penalty if convicted. But the prosecution is now pushing for him to face 166 counts of murder.

Mr Nikam told the court that although Kasab had not participated in the commando-style attacks and subsequent siege at the Taj Mahal hotel, Nariman House and the Oberoi Hotel, he could be held liable for all the deaths as a co-conspirator. Two Indian men accused of helping plan the attack are also likely to each face 166 murder counts.

Kasab's new lawyer, Abbas Kazmi, countered by arguing his client was under age at the time of the attacks and should be tried as a juvenile. But the prosecution dismissed the claim, pointing out that Kasab had told interrogators several times that he was 21. The appeal was also rejected by judge ML Tahaliyani as a delaying tactic.

Mr Kazmi later told reporters that his client wanted to retract his statement to police, and that it was obtained under torture.

The 54-year-old criminal lawyer was appointed to represent Kasab after his state-appointed legal aid lawyer, Anjali Waghmare, was removed from the case on Wednesday for allegedly also consulting with a key witness for the prosecution.

Mr Kazmi is no stranger to controversial cases. He made his name defending several of the accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb explosions case, one of whom was exonerated.

The state has built a special bomb-proof tunnel from Kasab's cell to the court. Indian intelligence agencies fear that Kasab's LET masters will attempt to silence him before he can give evidence.

In transcripts of extensive interviews with Kasab, the high school dropout told police he took the "dangerous job" because his family needed money and he had been promised 150,000 Pakistani rupees ($2581).

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