The trial of Mohammed Ajmal Amir Iman, also known as Kasab, the suspect charged over the Mumbai attacks, is scheduled for next week in a high security court room that is being built for this purpose, says Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor.
The Mumbai terror attack claimed the lives of over 170 people, including foreign nationals, and injured hundreds from November 26 – 29, 2008. After reportedly receiving death threats, a bomb-proof tunnel linking Kasab’s cell to the courtroom, to allow him direct access to the court from the prison, has been built.
The Public Works Department (PWD) will hand over the court premises to Arthur Road jail authorities only on completion of the construction. The court premises housed the TADA Court that conducted the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast trial earlier.
With police having thrown a thick security blanket in and around the prison and restricting the movement of people and vehicles in the by-lane touching the jail, Nikam confirms that Kasab and two others – Fahim Ansari and Shahabuddin – would be produced before the Sessions Court on April 6 only through video conferencing facility.
Once construction of the new court is complete, it will shift premises to Bombay Central Prison, popularly referred to as the Arthur Road jail, in south Mumbai.
Kasab was shifted to the bomb-proof prison cell on April 3, 2009, in the wake of threats to his life, says a senior official from the Indian Home Ministry on condition of anonymity.
