Mumbai terror attack 'gunman' is charged

Published on Wednesday 25 February 2009 22:15

INDIA charged a man believed to be the lone surviving terrorist from the deadly Mumbai attacks yesterday in a 11,000-page document marking the beginning of a legal process that could lead to his execution – and raise tensions with Pakistan.

Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani, was captured in the early hours of the attacks and jailed. Nine other attackers were killed during the three-day siege in November, which left 164 people dead and targeted luxury hotels, a Jewish centre and other sites across the city.

Kasab, 21, faces 12 charges. If convicted on the two most serious counts – murder and waging war against India – he will likely face the death penalty.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said he expected the trial to begin in coming weeks and conclude within six months – unusually swift for India, where the legal process can drag on for decades. The trial in India's deadliest terror attack, the 1993 Mumbai bombings that killed 257 people, took 14 years to complete.

"I hope they hang Kasab," Divya Salaskar, the daughter of a police officer killed in the attacks, told the NDTV television station. She called for "a quick trial and a quick result."

The trial could further inflame tensions with Pakistan as it lays out the role of Pakistani groups in the assault.

India blames the attack on Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist militant group widely believed created by Pakistani intelligence agencies in the 1980s to fight Indian rule in the divided Kashmir region.

India says all 10 attackers were from Pakistan.

Earlier this month, Pakistani officials acknowledged that the Mumbai attacks were partly plotted on its soil and announced criminal proceedings against eight suspects.

The filing against Kasab – detailed in an 11,000-page document that took several men to carry – included his confession.