NEW DELHI: The lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 dead has approached the Indian Supreme Court asking for his death sentence to be overturned, a court source told AFP Friday.
The source said the request by Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab had been filed via jail authorities in Mumbai, where he has been held since the attacks, and lodged with the secretary general of the court.
"He filed the appeal through the Arthur Road jail authorities," the source said, asking not to be named.
Pakistani national Kasab, one of 10 gunmen who laid siege to the city for nearly three days, was first convicted and sentenced by a trial court in the Indian commercial and entertainment capital in May 2010.
The death sentence was confirmed by the state high court in February in the first failed appeal by the 23-year-old from a poor farming area in Pakistan's Punjab.
India has the death sentence for the "rarest of the rare" criminal offences and executions are uncommon.
Kasab was found guilty of a string of offences including waging war against India, murder, attempted murder and terrorist acts after a trial at a maximum security prison court in Mumbai.
During the trial, the prosecution produced fingerprint, DNA, eye-witness, CCTV and other evidence showing him opening fire and throwing grenades in the bloodiest episode of the November 26 attacks at Mumbai's main railway station.
A number of senior police officers, including the head of the Maharashtra state anti-terrorism squad, were killed as the gunmen fled the scene of carnage.
Three luxury hotels, a popular tourist restaurant and a Jewish centre were also targeted by the other gunmen.
If the Supreme Court upholds the verdict and sentence, Kasab can appeal for clemency to India's president as a last resort.
The last execution in India was in 2004, but in May India's president unexpectedly rejected a mercy petition from a murderer in the northeastern state of Assam.
The state faces a difficult search for a hangman, however, because the small number of known candidates have either died or retired.
India has accused the banned, Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba of being behind the attacks, which led to the suspension of fragile peace talks between the two neighbours and rivals.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2011.
COMMENTS (21)
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After reading comments by Sumeet,Bombay Boy and few other Indians, it's crystal clear that Indian society as a whole is divided into different categories and thoughts....I as a Pakistani won't suggest which party is best for India since it's their internal matter. But would definitely convey my message or suggestion to those who are praising Narendra Modi solely due to the economic boom the state of Gujarat witnessed in the past decade....even Germany during Nazi rule,Romans; and Pharoahs of Egypt had also constructed grand buildings and did magnificent jobs in terms of economy, so would you accept them as your ruler if they contest elections, given their atrocities? In case of Kasab, i would like to inform that The Holy Quran says that to kill any single human being (read again HUMAN,no word such as Muslim,Jew,Christian, Infidel, Atheist or so) without a proper reason is same as killing the whole humanity....If someone is Islamophobic then it better cures their disease especially in the light of the recent incidents that shook Oslo,Norway. So hang Ajmal Kasab whenever you like, I don't care whatever you do to him....justice must be done.
Right from the day one my 25 years experience of army and int failed me to get convinced that Ajmal Kasab( hunchman)+9 were terrorists who could keep thousands of Indian army and police at bay for 72 hours. These crazy boys if at all were Pakistani must have gone Mumbia to see Bollywood stars and were caught and then used.Before that attack on their parliament was also a big drama.Its not a free and fair trail.
@Bombay boy: @Cynical: 80% of today's Modi's Gujarat incident image is due to nothing but congress's vote bank policy, and extreme religious groups. look @ Gujarat's progression under Modi, no one can deny that, and also note what happens to the muslims those praising him. he is a strong man.
These cowards profess other to kill innocents and get 72 V but when their turn come they start begging for mercy.
@Bombay boy: Oh really?If you are calling him a weak leader!!!!,then who the heck is strong in Indian politics[ dont say MMS or Balasaheb or Raj or Amul Baby or Madam ji] You don't deserve anything good but UPA.Keep voting for UPA[acc. to your theory, UPA is prime suspect behind all the killings of shikhs.(more than muslims) so Mr.Secular why are you still voting for these bunch of losers?]. And I'd request you to board the next flight to Gujarat and visit few muslim neighborhoods and see the change your self[far better than any state of India and no comparison with pak as pak stands no where],and then you'll realize how little you know about the fastest growing state of REPUBLIC OF INDIA.
@Thinker: @sumeet: Even if he was a gem of a person, Narendra Modi has clearly shown a sign of weak leadership which is threatening to the overall communal harmony in India. I don't want to encourage any mud slinging talk on Godhra incident as everybody here will comment out of their own prejudices and will start commenting as if they know the case first hand. Bottom line is, in our weak legal system many perpetrators goes scott free. It was our weak law and order system which led Godhra to happen and Modi was responsible for law and order in Gujarat. Irrespective of who started the riot and who suffered , fact remains there was a loss of human life, hindu or muslim is irrelevant. And if Modi cannot fulfill his sworn duty in one state, do you expect him to perform well in national level. The rightist might get a wrong message and encouragement to act as they will, which will result in disharmony between community. I would like to emphasize that in India communal problems is more of leadership and political issue and common men are unfortunately at receiving end. And adding someone like Modi may result in prosperity by wealth but certain degradation in human life value.
@Thinker and @sumeet
You, like your idol Mr.Modi are incapable of preventing a terrorist attack, much less to face one. You, like your idol Mr.Modi do not seem to be sane,educated and wise enough to talk reason and bring some sort of sanity in the minds of a prospective terrorist either. But you, like your idol Mr.Modi will continue to spew venom to hundreds of uneducated,bigoted induviduals and for one of them it might be just that last drop of venom he needed to take the plunge. In such an event, if you loose someone you love, who would you blame? Certainly not yourself. That's how delusional you people are. People who are fighting against terrorism have their hands full. Don't make their job more difficult than it already is.
@thinker,i support your thought.we need people like modi.but narendra modi is a thorn in the flesh of many pseudo secularists even they can not prove any case against him.i have not heard of a single corruption case against him.
I am against death penalty...so I would say keep him in prison for the rest of his life...in chains!!!
our current PM is such an impotent loser. India needs Hon.Narendra Modi.
I think he should be kept alive untill his trainers are hanged in front of him.
Indian Judiciary awards the death sentence in the 'rarest of rare' cases. Does Pakistan inspired terror in India fall under the category 'rarest of rare'? Well , it is almost a daily occurence. Threfore, I vote for commuting Kasab's death sentence to imprisonment for life.
I agree... culprits like him must not be pardoned.
anyone who kills innocent people should get a death penalty! no matter where he comes from!
I as a Pakistani, do not support his acts, and this man's death sentence should not be prolonged any further. He should be punished for his acts.
Theres a need to go to the source...he was just a stooge, the real culprits are roaming scot free still! Shame!
This guy is a vote bank for our congress party.
We must get rid of this man ASAP to send a strong message to the terrorists.
Vienna,29-07-2011 I would welcome in the context of renewed comprehensive dialogue,Pakistan sends an all Islam Sharia lawyer to appeal the verdict against the young man held inside the egg shell of the Arthur Road Jail.In any case, at Allah´s court in Heavens he would be honoured and the case against him would be dismissed. Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring, TTTMM, India --Kulamarva Balakrishna