Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani terrorist involved in the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the death sentence awarded to him.
As per reports, Kasab has filed his appeal with the help of Arthur Road Jail authorities.
His appeal has been sent to the Supreme Court Secretary-General. Once the appeal is processed and numbered by the registry, the Supreme Court will list it for hearing.
Kasab, who in many ways represents the face of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in India, was sentenced to the death by a trial court in May 2010 after it found him guilty of 80 offences, including waging war against the nation.
The trial court verdict was upheld by the Mumbai High Court on February 21, 2011.
Kasab, who hails from Faridkot village in Pakistan’s Punjab province, was among the group of terrorists who came from Pakistan by boat and staged 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai for three days from 26 November 2008.
Kasab was under instructions from his Pakistani handlers to keep killing until he died, but was captured by police. During interrogation, he revealed that he and the other gunmen had plans to kill 5,000 people and destroy the Taj Mahal Hotel.
Kasab was convicted based on CCTV footage showing him striding across the Chhattrapati Shivaji Terminus with an AK-47 and a backpack. While convicting him, the court had ruled that Kasab was guilty of directly killing seven people and a total of 59 with associate Abu Ismail, who was shot dead after running into a police picket at Girgaum Chowpatty.
In the 21 February order upholding Kasab’s death sentence, a two-judge division bench of the High Court comprising justices Ranjana Desai and RV More had observed, “This is rarest of rare matter so he should face capital punishment.”
Highlighting the magnitude of the attack, and extent of planning that went into it, the court considered him “a threat to society.”
First Published: Friday, July 29, 2011, 09:05