Kasab gets lawyer, Mumbai attack trial to begin from April six

MUMBAI: The trial proceedings in the Mumbai terror strike will commence on April six after the special court today appointed a woman lawyer from the Maharashtra legal aid cell to defend the lone terrorist Ajmal Kasab caught during the attack.

Kasab, the Lashker-e-Taiba(LeT) militant, was informed by Judge M L Tahilyani that the court had appointed Anjali Waghmare, a lawyer from the Maharashtra Service Legal Authority, to defend him. Kasab, at present lodged in high-security Arthur Road jail, appeared through a video link.

The judge, while introducing Kasab to his lawyer, said his lawyer would brief him about the trial proceedings and also assist him in explaining the police chargesheet as she was familiar with Marathi and English.

Clad in a grey shirt, Kasab, sporting a trimmed beard, smiled and nodded at Waghmare after which he told the court that he wanted to read newspapers.

Judge Tahilyani said he would consider all his requests once the trial begins in the special court to be set up inside the Arthur Road jail.

Kasab was among 38 people chargesheeted by Mumbai Police in connection with the 60-hour long terror siege that left 183 people dead. While two others - Faheem Ansari and Sabbauddin Ahmed - have been booked in this case, 35 others including Zakiur-rehman and Muzamil, at present in Pakistan, are still wanted in this case.