New Delhi, July 20: The lone Pakistani gunman captured during the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November confessed Monday to his role in carrying out the bloodbath in India’s financial hub, officials said.
Ajmal Amir Kasab made the confession before Special Judge ML Tahilyani and narrated the entire sequence of events as well as the names of his associates and “handlers” in Pakistan.
“The cat is out of the bag. We were very surprised that Kasab abruptly took the stand that he would like to confess to his guilt. I was personally very shocked,” public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam told reporters outside the special court in Mumbai.
He said the prosecuting team never thought that Kasab would admit to his role since he was adopting “different tactics” since the trial began.
“Initially he said he was juvenile so he shouldn’t be tried in court. Later on he said he was innocent,” Nikam added.
The trial by a special court began on April 15 in the heavily guarded Arthur Road jail premises, where Kasab has been kept in solitary confinement.
Kasab, 21, is accused of being part of a 10-member group of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist outfit that mounted attacks in Mumbai for three days beginning November 26. He was captured hours after the assault. At least 166 people including 26 foreign nationals were killed in the Mumbai attack.
—–Agencies