Homeland Security

Mumbai gunman moves to retract confession, alleges torture

RIA Novosti

17/04/2009 21:14 NEW DELHI, April 17 (RIA Novosti) - The sole gunman captured alive during last November's terrorist attack in Mumbai asked his lawyer on Friday to retract his confession, saying it was forced by police, the IANS news agency reported.

A member of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organization, 21-year-old Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, is being tried for involvement in an attack carried out by 10 terrorists, in which 166 were killed people over three days.

Police say Kasab and his partners shot dead 58 people during an assault on Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the city's main train station. A total of 12 charges have been filed against him, including murder and waging war against India.

Kasab, who was dubbed "the baby-faced killer," faces death by hanging if found guilty. He said police took the confessional statement under pressure and asked his lawyer, Kasab Abbas Kazmi, to retract it.

"Accordingly, as per his instructions, I have moved an application before Special Judge M.L. Tahilyani, seeking to retract Kasab's confessional statement," the agency quoted Kazmi as saying.

Meanwhile, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam dismissed the claim, saying the confessional statement "is recorded before a magistrate, there are no policemen present, so there was no question of any police pressure."