Indian court upholds death sentence for Pakistani terrorist involved in 2008 Mumbai bombing

[News_Editor]

Indian court upholds death sentence for Pakistani terrorist involved in 2008 Mumbai bombing

2011-02-22 01:27:07 GMT+7 (ICT)

BOMBAY, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- An Indian High Court on Monday confirmed the death sentence for a Pakistani terrorist and last survivor of the 2008 Mumbai bombing, the Hindustan Times reported.

A Bombay High Court rejected the appeal of Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab. Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said that the 24-year-old terrorist never showed any remorse after being captured.

"There is no scope of reform or rehabilitation of the convicted accused. It is a rarest of rare case and the court cannot be more confident than it is today that death penalty must be given," said Judge Ranjana Desai.

The Bombay court upheld the Pakistani national's conviction on all charges including multiple murder, conspiracy and waging war against the nation. Kasab could appeal the decision before the Supreme Court.

"The brutality, perversity and cruelty exhibited by Kasab in committing multiple murders of innocent men, women, children, aged persons and policemen makes this case a gravest case of extreme culpability," added Desai.

The High Court also dismissed the Maharashtra government’s petition against the acquittal of two Indian nationals, Faheem Ahmed Ansari and Mohammad Sabauddin Ahmed, accused of aiding the terrorists in committing the attack.

"We are with the trial court's observation that there is no corroboration of evidence to prove involvement of Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed in the case," the judge said during ruling.

The November 26 attack in Mumbai was executed by ten Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives which arrived by sea. The group diovided in two and carried out an unprecedented attack for 60 hours at the Hotels Taj Mahal and Oberoi-Trident and Jewish outreach centre Nariman House in South Mumbai.

Overall, the terrorists killed 166 people and injured 238 others. Nine of them were killed by Indian security forces after the siege and Kasab was caught alive at Girgaum Chowpatty. The attacks caused damages worth around $34 million.

After the attacks, India halted the Composite Dialogue with Pakistan. However, India and Pakistan decided to resume peace talks in October 2010. The talks involved the issues of counter-terrorism, peace and security, the disputed Kashmir region, and economy.

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