Judgement Day for Kasab-the Killing Machine

At around 12.15 pm, Judge Madan Tahilyani arrived late in the courtroom which was packed to the capacity. He was about to deliver the verdict on the case known as the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. This was the unique case where a Pakistani national Ajmal Kasab was tried in a terrorism case in India .

It was the case where India and Pakistan are engaged in high-level diplomacy. This is the case whose potential is still unfolding.

This is the case which India is showcasing to Pakistan that in India the 'rule of law' prevails and court judgements are free and fair. This is the case whose verdict will bleed many families in Pakistan because they know their children died for a useless and fruitless cause which was not worth fighting for.

Kasab, the main accused, came minutes after court started. He was gheraoed by policemen as soon as he sat next to Fahim on the bench. He was wearing a white salwar kameez, clean but wrinkled. He had a little stubble on his face. He kept looking at the floor. For almost next 90 minutes he didn't move. Not even once did he turn around to look at the media's enclosure to his left. When the court proceedings began on May 8, 2009, Kasab used to look into eyes of many media men and women frequently. The judge used to reprimand him for his playful conduct.

But since last the few months, his solitary confinement is having an effect. Ramesh Mahale, chief investigating officer, disagrees. He claims Kasab is playing smart. He says, "Only in the courtroom, before the media, he is 'acting'. Otherwise he behaves normally."

However, on Monday, when he was about to be declared guilty Kasab sat on the bench like a wooden statue. No emotions and no eye contact. It's difficult to judge anyone correctly without having eye contact.

This lone-surviving Pakistani accused, who has a Rs 300 million security operation around him, was the centre of attraction.

Judge Tahilyani took his own time to read the final verdict. He ensured that television journalists kept patience and listened to him. He forbade the media from leaving court till his entire explanation was over. This courtroom has many air conditioners, a fine audio system and full-proof security.

He told journalists, who wanted to flash the news of Kasab's conviction, "Don't leave the room till I give permission." Tahilyani has his way of handling situation with a carrot and stick approach.

Before pronouncing the historic verdict, the judge told Kasab to stand up in his box.

Then, in Hindi he told Kasab that, "Aap ke khilaf khun karne ki aur saazish karne ka aarop hai. (You were charged for murder and conspiracy) You are found guilty."

He also tried to educate journalists by giving a detailed account of his verdict. He said his verdict is 1,522 pages long. "I am not going to read the entire verdict," he said.

Then, he went on to explain in detail that since the case was so voluminous he has made it simpler by preparing 14 tables. That are attached to the verdict and all details of the tables are explained in the findings.

He said this case contained large numbers of casualties, arms and ammunitions so to sum up all details in context he has prepared tables.

Like the first table contained the nature of crime committed, which police company was assigned investigations and name of the police investigations under which place the crime falls. Table two gave entire details of 166 deaths in the attacks. A column in the table showed where they were killed, another column on nature of injuries.

The third table attached to the judgment showed 238 injured people's names and a column narrating the nature of injuries, details of medical examination/treatment.

Another table showed the details of medical reports, nature of injuries etc. One table showed a panchnama made of arms like AK-47 rifles and pistols. Table nine and ten showed details of all empties and bullets and cartridges found at the places of crime. The judge said that tables show details of seizures and comments of the ballistic reports. Table 14 showed various types of DNA tests that the court got.

Interestingly, Monday's judgment has accepted almost all the investigation into 26/11 except Arun Jhadhav, a Mumbai policeman's statement that the court found 'exaggerated'.

Jadhav was in the police vehicle in which senior police officers Hemant Karkare [ Images ], Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte [ Images ] were killed. Also, the court has said it's not sure how Karkare and Kamte were killed because the bullets went through their bodies and empties found around didn't match with the terrorists' rifles.

As soon as judge started narrating how he has accepted that Kasab had forged an I-card of an Indian college and said he has convicted him for forgery, there was an excitement in the courtroom. The judge acknowledged that the US Federal Bureau of Investigations testimony was important. He said that the FBI's findings on the global positioning system used by the terrorists was vital. FBI's proof of how ten terrorists travelled from Karachi to Mumbai was accepted as evidence.

It was music to ears of Public Prosecutor Ujjawal Nikam when the judge, in his first half hour, kept saying, "I have accepted your case."

As he started accepting the evidence one by one, many knew, as expected, that Kasab will be pronounced guilty. The judge first talked about Kasab's offence of around 66 deaths under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. He said he found Kasab guilty of directly killing seven people that included policeman Tukaram Ombale. The judge said Kasab's rifle's bullets tally with those on these seven victims.

The court also said that 47 people were killed by Abu Ismail and Kasab. He says he appreciated the prosecution's evidence in this case. The court was very appreciative of photographer Sebastian D'Souza's testimony where he narrated how he took Kasab's picture while he on the killing spree at CST station.

One of the most important things that judge said while delivering the judgment was that he has accepted Kasab's statement made before a magistrate but he has also taken care to see that corroborative evidence is taken into account.

Kasab has retracted his statement that narrated his journey from Pakistan to India and his actions on 26/11. But the judge said Kasab's retraction is 'bald' without any reasons.

He said the law of prudence required that confessions of accused are corroborated by evidence. The judge assured that he has taken care of it. The court's decision was heavily depended on the confession of Kasab that was retracted.

The judge said he has accepted the evidence that Kasab was not at all under duress when he made the confession before the magistrate after his arrest. The court found him guilty of conspiracy charge also for which only circumstantial evidence exists.

The court has found Kasab guilty of deaths that occurred at other places also where he was not present.

The judge made 196 points in the 85-page summary of his 1,522-page judgment. The judge said, "These are crimes committed not by a normal criminal but by a committed man who wanted to wage war against India."

26/11 -A year After

I read a news item recently regarding the terrorist attack on Mumbai on 26/11 last year. The news stated that the bulletproof jackets worn by the police officers who were fighting the terrorists from Pakistan were substandard & were from a lot which was rejected earlier & accepted later. You know what that means.

Substandard equipment was purchased by the Government of India which ultimately led to the death of top police officials like Hemant Karkare just because they were wearing so called bulletproof jackets which were not bulletproof at all.

Is that the value we have for the lives of the brave people who fight to keep us & our country safe?

GUYS, PLEASE HELP ME IN RAISING VOICES AGAINST THIS ACT OF CORRUPTION WHICH HAS TAKEN PLACE RIGHT AT THE TOP & LED TO THE LIVES OF OUR VALIANT OFFICERS.

Coolest Calmest Place On Earth!!!!!!!!!!

In a study to assess the many factors that affect astronomy, a joint US-Australian research team has found the ideal location for an observatory -- known simply as "Ridge A".

The untouched stretch of Antarctic terrain has been dubbed the coldest, calmest and driest place on Earth. It is expected to yield images of the heavens three times sharper than any ever taken from the ground.

The team combined data from satellites, ground stations and climate models to assess factors that affect astronomy -cloud cover, temperature, sky-brightness, water vapour, wind speeds and atmospheric turbulence.

The researchers pinpointed a site -- known simply as Ridge A -- that is 4,053m high up on the Antarctic Plateau. It is not only particularly remote, but extremely cold and dry.

The study revealed that Ridge A has an average winter temperature of minus 70 degree Celsius and that the water content of the entire atmosphere there is sometimes less than the thickness of a human hair.

It is also extremely calm, which means that there is very little of the atmospheric turbulence elsewhere that makes stars appear to twinkle: 'It's so calm that there's almost no wind or weather there at all,' says Dr Will Saunders, of the Anglo-Australian Observatory and visiting professor to UNSW, who led the study.

'The astronomical images taken at Ridge A should be at least three times sharper than at the best sites currently used by astronomers,' says Dr Saunders.

'Because the sky there is so much darker and drier, it means that a modestly-sized telescope there would be as powerful as the largest telescopes anywhere else on earth,' the expert added.

They found that the best place in almost all respects was not the highest point on the Plateau -- called Dome A 00 but 150km away along a flat ridge.

'Ridge A looks to be significantly better than elsewhere on the Antarctic plateau and far superior to the best existing observatories on high mountain tops in Hawaii and Chile,' says Dr Saunders.
The finding was published on Tuesday in the Publications of the Astronomical Society.

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