'Hang me', says Kasab after making surprise guilty plea
Thursday, 23 July 2009, 17:04 IST
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Mumbai: "Hang me, please," Ajmal Amir Kasab pleaded before the special court here Wednesday, two days after he made a dramatic confession and gave a chilling blow-by-blow account of his part in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in which over 170 people were killed. It was yet another day of drama in the courtroom of Special Judge M.L. Tahilyani after Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani terrorist, pleaded to be put to death for his crimes. He said he had committed his crimes on this earth and should be punished by the people of earth. "I don't want divine punishment. Hang me please, for my crimes," Kasab said, claiming that he was not angling to get a lower punishment by making his confessions. Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam termed it as "a drama" to suppress the truth. He said the accused had not revealed the full truth about the Mumbai attacks conspiracy in his confession and was trying to protect his handlers in Pakistan. Nikam also argued that by naming other associates and his Pakistani handlers, Kasab was attempting to prove that he was merely "a pawn" in the hands of other masterminds behind the terror attacks. Kasab said if anybody had "any doubts" that he was trying to escape the hangman's noose by his confessions, "then I should be hanged". His plea came as the court was considering whether to accept Kasab's surprising admission Monday of being one of the 10 Pakistani terrorists who attacked the financial and entertainment capital of India Nov 26 last year. Kasab was arrested by a group of policemen who had set up a road block on the morning of Nov 27. The siege of the city that began Nov 26 night finally ended on the morning of Nov 29. Kasab, 21, had been charged with 86 separate offences, including murder and waging war against India. He had in May pleaded not guilty to the charges and recanted a confession to the crimes during his initial interrogation that he said was made under duress. The government-appointed defence lawyer, S.G. Abbas Kazmi, alleged that Kasab was mentally tortured in jail, forcing him to confess. However, when Judge Tahilyani questioned him, Kasab denied that pressure had been put on him to confess. Tahilyani adjourned the matter for further hearing till Thursday.
Source: IANS
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