I confessed under duress, says Kasab

MUMBAI: Mohammed Amir Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving member of the terrorist squad that struck at multiple locations in Mumbai last November, made a plea to retract his confession on the first day of the trial here on Friday.

Defence lawyer SG Abbas Kazmi while filing the application on Kasab���s behalf, told special court judge ML Tahilyani that the accused was retracting his confession as it was taken under "duress" by police. Kasab���s confession was made before a magistrate.

The court, which is yet to give its ruling on the issue, however, rejected Kasab���s contention that he was a minor and not ���aged 21��� as claimed by the prosecution, and that he should be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act. The terror attacks, including the carnage at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and a shootout at Cafe Leopold, and the ensuing siege at hotels Taj Mahal and Oberoi Trident, and Nariman House had claimed 166 lives.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam alleged that Kasab and the other killed terrorists had received military and intelligence training in Pakistan under a conspiracy hatched by Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan to ultimately capture Jammu and Kashmir. Nikam based his submissions on the confession made by Kasab before a magistrate.

The confession was opened in the court on Friday and Nikam read out some portions to point out that the perpetrators of the crime had been given precise military and intelligence training in Pakistan. During the course of his submissions, Nikam did not name Pakistan Army or ISI as having trained the accused. But he repeatedly referred to major general Sahab and Col R Saadat, who figured in Kasab���s confession as supervisory officers of the training imparted to the accused.

The special prosecutor said there was ample evidence to show Kasab and the two arrested accused, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, were members of the conspiracy hatched in Pakistan to strike terror in the financial capital.

Inside the court, Kasab appeared to be comfortable and was often seen smiling at his lawyer and reporters. However, after the lunch recess, he became serious and attentive when prosecutor Nikam dwelt upon his alleged role in the terror attack. The judge warned Kasab not to talk to the other accused. Kasab, who was wearing a dark grey T-shirt with blue stripes and a black trousers, nodded his head and kept quiet.

Kazmi, who had earlier defended 25 to 30 accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast trial, said he would draw up the defence strategy after going through the evidence against Kasab. Kazmi was a last minute replacement for lawyer Anjali Waghmare, who was removed on a complaint of professional misconduct. Ms Waghmare did not disclose that she had been appointed by the Bombay HC legal aid cell to appear in the same case for a witness, who was injured in the attack.