Chargesheet Filed Against Ajmal Kasab - [February 25, 2009] This Day in History

On 25 February 2009, investigators filed a charge sheet against the lone survivor of the 26/11 terrorist attacks of Mumbai Ajmal Kasab.

See previous ‘This Day in History’ here.

Mumbai Terror Attacks 2008 Background

• Ajmal Kasab was the lone surviving terrorist of the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008.
• Kasab was seen in CCTV footage while he was carrying out his dastardly attacks at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
• He was caught by the police alive. During interrogation, it was revealed that he was a Pakistani national from Faridkot. He further said that he and his associates were constantly in touch with Lashkar headquarters in Karachi.
• He was one of the 10 men who had come to India via the sea to carry out the terrorist attacks which shook the country and the world. They carried out the plan in different locations across Mumbai.
• Police sources revealed that Kasab, who spoke Pathani Hindi, understood jihad as “killing and getting killed and becoming famous”.
• Apparently, he did not know much of the Koran and was ready to switch loyalties too.
• Kasab confessed that he and his associate Ismail Khan were the ones who killed ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, ACP Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar.
• Initially, many lawyers refused to defend him for obvious reasons. The few who did volunteer were threatened by some political activists. Finally, in April 2009, senior lawyer Anjali Waghmare consented to represent Kasab.
• The chargesheet against him ran for 11000 pages and was filed on 25 February.
• The charges were conspiracy, murder (of 165 people), waging war against India and other crimes. On 17 April, Abbas Kazmi was appointed the defence counsel.
• Kasab pleaded not guilty to 86 charges.
• In July 2009, Kasab pleaded guilty to all the charges.
• In December 2009, he retracted his guilty plea claiming he was tortured and forced to confess to the crimes.
• Various witnesses were called and examined during the process of the trial.
• On 3^rd May 2010, he was pronounced guilty and sentenced to death.
• He challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court which stayed the Bombay court order. Then on 29 August 2012, he was pronounced guilty by the Supreme Court.
• His mercy plea was rejected by the then president Pranab Mukherjee on 5 November.
• He was duly executed by hanging on 21 November 2012 at Yerwada Jail, Pune.

Also on this day

1884: Birth of Gandhian freedom fighter and social reformer Ravishankar Vyas.
1894: Birth of Indian mystic Meher Baba.
1970: Death of social reformer and freedom fighter Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai.
1971: Death of freedom fighter Bimala Prasad Chaliha.
2012: India was taken off the list of polio-endemic countries by the WHO.

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