Kasab misses hearing, sleeps through 26/11

MUMBAI: On the second anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, Pakistani gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab continued to boycott the hearing of his death sentence at the Bombay High Court on Friday. Instead, he woke up late, had a hearty breakfast and lunch, and slept through most of the day.

The HC is hearing the petition to confirm the death sentence, which was awarded to Kasab by a trial court on May 3.

Kasab, who is lodged in a high-security prison cell at Arthur Road jail, was allowed to participate in the proceedings before a division bench comprising Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice R V More through a video conference link. He, however, refused to avail of the facility after the court turned down his request to attend the hearing in person.

Kasab seemed to be unaware that it was two years since he landed on Mumbai's shores with nine other Pakistani terrorists.

After the visit by Maharashtar home minister R R Patil, the police have been wary of interacting with Kasab and did not inform him that it was 26/11. ''Kasab doesn't have a calendar either to look up the date,'' said a jail official, who requested anonymity.

Kasab, according to the official, was sleeping till late in the morning and woke up only after a constable asked him to collect his breakfast — milk, poha, sheera, egg and chai — prepared by policemen due to the security reasons around 8 am. After staying awake for a while, he dozed off again.

He woke up at 12.30 pm for a lunch of dal, rice, chapati and mixed vegetables. ''He did not even make any attempt to speak to the policemen posted for his security, which he normally does,'' said the official.