Kasab trial: Victims want speedy justice, closure

MUMBAI: The prolonged trial of surviving terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab is being watched keenly by survivors of 26/11. As they oscillate between impatience and revenge, most are simply keen for a quick decision so they can achieve some sort of closure.

Echoing the feeling of several citizens, a top official of one of the hotels that became a towering inferno during the siege feels the trial is progressing too slowly. “It is frustrating ,’’ he says. “One wishes the judiciary would come to a quick conclusion. We seem to be dwelling too much on the niceties of the process.’’

Widow of Yes Bank’s nonexecutive chairman, Ashok Kapur, Madhu, is as vocal. “Where is the need for a prolonged trial and make a mockery of our suffering and waste public money?’’ she says. “Bring Kasab to the Gateway of India and hand him over to the citizens of this country. Let us get rid of him once and for all. Why prolong our misery?’’ Reports of Kasab’s mocking demeanour and repeated demands for comforts within prison have upset victims. Anger and angst are rife, but as one survivor points out, even the death penalty to Kasab will mean little until the masterminds across the border are brought to justice.

Resignation on this front seems to have gripped Kalpana Shah as well. She is sure justice will come, albeit administered by a higher god. “Kasab is not my problem. Nothing can bring back my life as I knew it, but the question is how do we save more women from becoming widows and children from becoming orphans ,’’ Shah says.