The prosecution, finishing its final arguments against Ajmal Kasab's sentence on Tuesday, demanded the death penalty for the accused. Kasab was found
guilty of waging war against the nation, conspiracy and murder by the Mumbai Special Court yesterday.
After Kasab's conviction yesterday, arguments over his sentence began in the Special Court today. Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said that Ajmal Kasab enjoyed the killings, therefore justifying the intent of waging a war against the nation.
Nikam went back to Kasab's confession, where Kasab told the police that the 10 terrorists had to wait for darkness to fall before they entered India from its shores without being noticed, and therefore had to halt in Karachi for over an hour and a half. The prosecutor pointed out that this delay made Kasab restless, who was thereby agonized by the many lives that had to be foregone due to the wait. This shows his ruthlessness and a deadly intention for murder, Nikam declared.
The prosecution pressed that it is indeed an unusual case, and qualifies as the rarest of the rare cases, and infact, a special judge in a special court has been appointed for the purpose. "The conspiracy was pre-meditated and meticulously planned, and only a death sentence would bring justice," the prosecution concluded.
The defense will soon present its case, pleading for leniency. Defense lawyer K P Pawar is expected to present his arguments for over an hour.
Judge M L Tahaliyani is then left with a choice of either giving the sentence today, or postponing it to tomorrow.