Indian Supreme Court upholds death sentence of Ajmal Kasab

Supreme Court of India on Wednesday dismissed the appeal filed by Ajmal Kasab against the Mumbai High Court’s verdict of a death sentence handed down to him for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Kasab, the only survivor from the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed, field his appeal in the apex court claiming that he hadn’t been given a fair trial.

However, the court dismissed his appeal and confirmed his death penalty. He was found guilty of charges including waging war against India, murder and terrorist acts, and was given the death penalty in May 2010.

A two-member bench of the Supreme Court in New Delhi has heard the appeal of Kasab, who is currently held in a maximum-security prison in Mumbai.

After losing this appeal, Kasab can lodge a final appeal for clemency with the president.

Gunmen equipped with heavy and automatic arms stormed targets in Mumbai including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a hospital and a bustling train station in November 2008, killing 166 and injuries hundreds of others.

India blames the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the banned Pakistani organization, for training, equipping and financing the gunmen with support from elements in the country’s army.

Ajmal Kasab at first pleaded not guilty but later confessed, admitting he was one of the gunmen sent by the LeT.

When his appeal hearing began in January he said, he was denied a fair trial. “I was denied a fair trial and I may be guilty of killing people and carrying out a terrorist act but I am not guilty of waging war against the state”, he added.

Earlier in 2009, Pakistan charged seven alleged perpetrators behind the attacks but insists it needs more evidence.

The Mumbai attacks horrified India as each development unfolded live on television, and there have been widespread public calls for Kasab’s execution.

At the trial, the prosecution produced fingerprint, DNA, eyewitness and TV footage evidence showing Kasab opening fire and throwing grenades at Mumbai’s main railway station in the bloodiest episode of the attacks.

Most death sentences in India are commuted to life imprisonment, but convicts can sit on death row for years awaiting a final decision.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Aug 29 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.