Kasab asks to be hanged; Prosecution doubts motive

Mumbai, July 22: Ajmal Kasab on Wednesday said he was ready to be hanged and wants no mercy from the court after the prosecution said the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attack was trying to minimize his role to avoid death penalty and protect his handlers in Pakistan.

"Agar kisiko aitraaz hai...agar kisi ke dil mein shak hai ki main phansi se baachne ke liye yeh kar raha hoon toh beshak phansi ki saaza dijiye. (If anyone feels that I am confessing to escape the death penalty then the court may without doubt hang me)," Kasab, 22, told special judge M.L. Tahilyani, who adjourned to Thursday the Mumbai attack trial.

As the judge weighed the pros and cons of the unexpected confession made by the Pakistani national on Monday admitting to his involvement in the attack, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam picked holes in his statement refusing to accept it and said he was not telling the whole truth.

Nikam submitted before the trial court the Kasab has not made full disclosure in his confession and thus the prosecution should be allowed to submit evidence against him and the other accused in the case.

"Kasab is not telling the whole truth. He has cleverly minimised his role and has done it to get lesser punishment or save his handlers in Pakistan," Nikam argued.

Nikam said there was a provision in Pakistan Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that allows for evidence gathered outside their country to be submitted in a court there.

"Kasab is very smart and intelligent to say that he be given the death penalty because no court will send him to the gallows if major role of his participation in the crime is discarded," Nikam said.

Through his confession, Kasab is trying to claim he played a subordinate role to slain terrorist Abu Ismail, he said.

"We can accept his confession only to two incidents — (Mumbai) CST firing and the theft of a vehicle," the Public Prosecutor said.

"Kasab has not accepted his role in all the other incidents like the firing in Cama Hospital, the attack on a police jeep outside Cama Hospital and the encounter with police at Girgaum Chowpatty," Nikam said.

He further argued that several witnesses have identified Kasab as the one who was firing at Cama Hospital and at the police jeep thus killing ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar.

Nikam also told the court that there were several contradictions in the confession and the statement given by Kasab before a magistrate on February 18.

In the confession before the Magistrate, Kasab said that after robbing the vehicle, Ismail told him that they were going to Malabar Hill in South Mumbai.

"However, while admitting his guilt before the special court, Kasab has said that Ismail was lost and did not know where they were supposed to go," Nikam said.

He also said that before the Magistrate Kasab had revealed that the two other arrested accused — Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed — had prepared maps of Mumbai and had handed them over to Pakistani handlers.

However, before the special court Kasab has not once taken the names of Ansari or Ahmed, the prosecutor said.