Mumbai gunman lawyer removed from trial
Only gunman to survive terrorist attacks on Mumbai in court charged with murder and waging war on India - Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License
Also In The News
|
Barcelona eased into the Champions League last four with a 5-1 aggregate win over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. |  |
Wednesday, 15, Apr 2009 10:25
The main defence lawyer at the trial of the sole surviving gunman of the Mumbai terror attacks has been removed.
In a dramatic turn of events, defence advocate Anjali Waghmare was removed from the trial for "professional misconduct".
The trial of Pakistani Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, 21, began at the high-security jail where he is being held earlier today.
He is charged with murder and waging war on India over the Mumbai terror attacks last autumn, which killed more than 170 people. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
But the trial was delayed when allegations emerged Ms Waghmare had previously met with Harishchandra Shrivardhankar, one of the victims of the November attacks, and agreed to represent him.
He is a key witness in the case against Qasab and is seeking compensation from the Indian government for the injuries he sustained. Although she later agreed to defend Qasab, Ms Waghmare apparently failed to declare her previous contact with Mr Shrivardhankar.
Qasab asked for a Pakistani lawyer to replace Ms Waghmare but the trial judge ML Tahaliyani refused his request. He said: Pakistan can assist you to find you a lawyer, but he would have to be from here.
"We need to give a just and fair trial to Qasab, and it is necessary to appoint a lawyer who can handle a case of this nature properly and with due diligence," he added.
The trial has been adjourned until tomorrow.
Extreme security measures are in place around the court and Jayant Patil, the home minister of Maharashtra, told the Times that Indian officials were aware of a foreign plot to kill Qasab.
A bomb-proof tunnel has been built which links Qasab's cell to the courtroom, which is itself surrounded by a 50ft cage made of steel and concrete.
The Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attacks last October and November as ten gunman went on the rampage across the city.
Qasab and his accomplice Abu Dera Ismail Khan attacked the Chhatrappati Shivaji railway terminus and the Metro cinema before they were trapped by police near the Girgaum Chowpatty beach. Khan was killed after a shootout with police and Qasab captured.
Following the arrest, a major row erupted between India and Pakistan, with officials from the latter refusing to confirm Qasab was a Pakistani national for some months.
Ms Waghmare was one of the few Indian lawyers open to representing Qasab in court. The charge sheet against him reportedly runs to 11,000 pages.
Two Indian suspects, Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, are also on trial accused of helping plan the attacks.