» Kasab Death Sentence: Ujjwal Nikam Turns Into National Star
Ujjwal Nikam Turns Into National Star
Ujjwal Nikam was public prosecutor for some of India's most powerful cases, including the 1994 Mumbai bomb blast trial and the Pramod Mahajan murder case.
The celebrity of the day is Ujjwal Nikam, special public prosecutor of the 26/11 case that was dealt with in a Mumbai fast-track court. 57-year-old Nikam, who fervently pleaded for the harshest of punishments to be doled out to Kasab, had called him "a Satan", "a killing machine", "a dog" and "a snake in human form", among other names.
Kasab has now been sentenced to be hanged until death, and much of the nation is cheering at the court's decision, also hailing Ujjwal Nikam as a hero of sorts.
Thursday saw Ujjwal Nikam argue for over 2 hours about why Kasab should be punished. He has also reportedly demanded that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the extremist outfit that Kasab is part of, pay up Rs. 155.73 crore as compensation for damage to public and priate property. This plea, however, was turned down by the court.
Ujjwal Nikam was public prosecutor for some of India's most powerful cases, including the 1994 Mumbai bomb blast trial, the Gulshan Kumar murder trial, the Pramod Mahajan murder case, and the Nadeem extradition case. He has won over 65 awards from various citizens' groups nationwide.
Nikam, in his career, has been instrumental in 600 life sentences and over 30 cases of death penalty.