India - terror trial

Mumbai attacks trial adjourned as soon as it opens

Article published on the 2009-04-15 Latest update 2009-04-15 14:13 TU

Police outside Arthur Road jail in Mumbai ahead of the trial of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab
(Photo: Reuters)

The trial of the only person accused of taking part in last November's attacks in Mumbai was adjourned as soon as it opened on Wednesday, with the judge ruling that the defence lawyer could have a conflict of interest. Mohammad Ajmal Kasab's trial is taking place under tight security and is expected to last six months.

Judge ML Tahaliyani declared that lawyer Anjali Waghmare could not carry on the defence because she may have links to a potential witness for the prosecution.

"It does not appear appropriate. In my opinion there can't be any other option left to the court," the judge said.

Kasab, who is 21-years-old, is said to belong to the banned Pakistani Islamist armed group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and faces the death penalty if convicted. The numerous charges agains him include "waging war" on India, murder, attempted murder and kidnapping.

Waghmare has been attacked by Hindu right-wingers for taking on the case after the Mumbai bar association decided not to represent him. 

But Anand Grover of the Mumbai Lawyers' Collective says that most of the profession believes Kasab should be defended by a lawyer of his own choice.

"There may be a mistrial," he told RFI, "[…] because it is an essential prerequisite in Indian constitutional law that the person must be defended properly.  

"The other thing is that all the documents are in a language not known him, so he will need assistance. So it’s very important that he is represented by a competent lawyer."

The hard-right Shiv Sena party called for Kasab to be beheaded without trial in front of the city's main railway station, where more than 50 people were killed.

The total death toll from the attacks was 160, with 300 wounded.

Kasab's DNA and fingerprints were found on items on the hijacked Indian trawler that the gunmen used to land on the Mumbai coast, according to prosecutors. There is also CCTV footage of him at the station and 30 eyewitnesses are said to have picked him out on identity parades.

Prosecutors also say they have evidence "undoubtedly and conclusively" linking Pakistan to the attacks, although it is unclear whether they mean the Pakistani state.

Two Indian nationals, Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, are also on trial, accused of providing the group with logistical support before the attacks.

The courtroom, which was last used to try suspects over the 1993 bomb blasts in the city, has been reinforced and a bomb-proof tunnel is reported to have been built from Kasab's cell, after he received death threats.

Traffic is banned from around the court, at Arthur Road Jail, for the length of the trial, which is expected to last six months and involve up to 2,000 witnesses.

Reporters say that Kasab seemed unable to follow the proceedings, which are in English and Hindi.

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