Mumbai: A special trial court on Thursday granted the prosecution a 13-day extension to execute a proclamation order against six wanted Pakistani nationals accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The extension is part of the ongoing legal process to initiate a trial in absentia against the fugitives. The prosecution filed an application seeking additional time to officially serve the orders against the wanted individuals. Passing directions on the prosecution’s application, the presiding judge stated, “Taken on record. Allowed.” The court subsequently adjourned the proceedings to Oct 1.
Earlier, the prosecution submitted an interim report informing the court that a formal request was sent to Ministry of Home Affairs to serve the proclamation orders through Interpol. The court initially started the process to try the accused in absentia on June 30, following a plea submitted by special public prosecutor Ujjawal Nikam.
The six foreign nationals facing the proclamation order include banned
Lashkar-e-Taiba handlers Haafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, along with Sajid Mir, Abu Alqama, Asim alias Abu Qahafa and Major Abdur Rehman Pasha. It will be the first trial in absentia in a terror case since the introduction of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
Section 356 of BNSS allows the trial of absconding offenders in their absence to prevent delays in justice.
While Saeed is accused of engineering and executing the 26/11 attacks, Lakhvi, Qahafa and Alqama were present in a control room set up in Malir, Karachi, during the attacks. They are also accused of supervising the training of the terrorists. In the control room, they were accompanied by Sayyed Zabihudin alias Abu Jundal, an Indian who is accused of teaching the 10 terrorists Hindi and the local language of the city during a 10-day session. Jundal is currently on trial in the case with witness depositions underway.
In the Nov 26-29, 2008, attacks, 166 people were killed at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, Hotel Trident, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Jewish centre Nariman House, in and around Cama hospital, Cafe Leopold and other places.
Among those killed were several citizens of the UK, US and Israel. The police killed nine terrorists and caught one of them, Ajmal Kasab, alive. Kasab was tried, awarded the death sentence and subsequently executed on Nov 21, 2012, at Yerwada Central jail.
