Mumbai, Jan 13: ML Tahiliyani has been appointed as
a Special Judge to conduct the trial in the November 26
terror attacks in Mumbai, in which over 180 persons
were killed.
Tahiliyani will preside over the trial of Mohammed
Ajmal Amir Kasab, a Pakistani national and the lone arrested
terrorist in the group of 10 who carried out the attack, in
12 cases registered against them, city Police Commissioner
Hasan Gafoor said Monday night.
Tahiliyani, a former CBI court judge, is currently
Registrar (Inspection) at the Bombay High Court.
Ujjwal Nikam, who was the state counsel in the 1993
Mumbai serial blasts, has already been appointed Public
Prosecutor in the case.
Police are expected to file a chargesheet before January
24. Ajmal, whose Pakistani identity has been acknowledged by
Islamabad, will face charges ranging from murder, attempt to
murder and waging a war against the country, officials said.
The chargesheet will cover mainly Ajmal's conversation
with his handlers in Pakistan, his interrogation report
besides eyewitnesses who saw him spraying bullets on the night
of November 26.
Police have decided to club all the 12 cases filed on
the intervening night of November 26-27.
Sources in Maharashtra government have said the trial is
likely to be held inside the high-security Arthur Road jail,
where the trial and sentencing of nearly 100 accused took
place in the 1993 blasts.
First lawyer
Earlier on Monday, the first lawyer appeared for an accused in the Mumbai attacks case who was remanded to police custody till January 23.
The development came in the backdrop of several advocates' refusal to take up the brief of those allegedly involved in Mumbai attacks.
Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed were produced before a magistrate court, which remanded them to police custody in connection with the November 26 Taj hotel firing case registered at the Colaba Police Station in south Mumbai.
Advocate Ejaz Naqvi filed his 'vakalatnama' for Faheem. Till now, no lawyer has appeared for any of the four accused in the case, which includes Ajmal Amir Iman Kasab and Imran Shehzad.
Faheem and Sabauddin have been accused of conducting recce of the city and preparing maps of possible targets here and submitting the information to Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) operatives.
They were arrested in February last year in connection with the attack on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. The duo was brought to Mumbai from Lucknow on December 18 last year.
However, Faheem's lawyer Naqvi said even if he had prepared the maps, which the prosecution contended was given to LeT operatives, he was not aware of what it would be used for and its purpose.
Another accused in the CRPF attack case Imran Shehzad was also brought to Mumbai as a suspect in the terror attack case. "The one who made the maps is not the accused, one who misused it is the accused," Naqvi argued and claimed Faheem is not involved with LeT or Mumbai terror attack.
He said the terror attack occurred in November and at that time Faheem was lodged in a jail in Uttar Pradesh.
"An accused cannot be tried in two different cases in different states. It amounts to double jeopardy. Faheem is at present in judicial custody in the UP case and here he is in police custody. We will approach the High Court objecting to this," Naqvi said.
Bureau Report