Mumbai, October 17: First additional principal judge ML Tahaliyani said on Friday it was necessary for the court to examine the National Security Guard (NSG) commandos who “eliminated” the alleged terrorists at Hotel Taj and Nariman House during the 26/11 attacks last year.
The court gleaned the names of two NSG officers — Captain Anil Jakad, who was involved in the operation at the Taj Hotel, and Major Prashant, who was at Nariman House — from the evidence of witnesses already examined.
The court asked chief investigating officer Ramesh Mahale to ascertain full names, designations and current postings of the two NSG officers, so that the court could issue summons to them. Lt Col RK Sharma, who led the operation at Hotel Oberoi, has already been sent summons, and is scheduled to appear before the court on October 27.
Noting that all three accused in the 26/11 case — Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Shaikh — have been accused of “waging war against the government of India,” the judge stated, “It is necessary to have the facts on record as to how much resistance was offered to the NSG at Hotel Oberoi, Taj and Nariman House.
“None of the prosecution witnesses so far, has uttered a single word about the difficulties faced by the NSG in capturing the terrorists dead or alive. Unless this part is clear, it will be difficult for me to give findings on these charges.”
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam has made it clear that the prosecution would not be recording the statements of NSG commandos. But the court said that the prosecution should have filed a supplementary chargesheet on this. “I cannot be a silent spectator on what is being presented to me by the prosecution,” the judge said.
The court also discarded Nikam’s opinion that if the NSG commandos were examined, their secret combat techniques would be exposed. “The methods adopted by security agencies all over the world are shared.
There are joint workshops, and sometimes, their contents are posted on the net,” the judge said. “Besides, the methodsadopted by the NSG depend on the topography, arms and ammunition of the terrorists(it is taking on) and the resistance offeredby them.”
–Agencies–