Surviving Mumbai Attacker Ready to Face Death

After first denying his part in last November's terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai that claimed the lives of over 160 people, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab has now not only changed his plea to guilty. He also said he is ready to die.

It was back in May that Kasab, a 21-year-old Pakistani who was arrested during the very first day that Mumbai came under attack from 10 gunmen on Nov. 26 2008, entered a not guilty plea to 86 charges. One of the charges filed against him was of waging war against India. But on Monday of this week, as CNN reports, after two weeks of his trial and with a large number of the 150 witnesses due to be called having already given their evidence, Kasab took the entire court by surprise -- his lawyer included -- when he came out and admitted his guilt on all the charges laid against him. That admission of guilt does, however, seem to have given prosecutors some cause for concern, as they believe his change of heart may be a move calculated to avoid further questioning about his part in the attacks. Further questioning may lead to more revelations regarding those involved in the planning of what was eventually four days of terror. The attacks ended on Nov. 29 with the death of the tenth gunman in the city which sits on the west coast of India and houses most of the country's principal financial institutions.

Photo by Vinukumar Ranganathan

This photo was taken right after a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India. It was sent to DigitalJournal.com by citizen journalist Vinukumar Ranganathan who was on the streets with his camera as it happened. Hundreds of people were killed and wounded as terrorists took hostages.

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Hotels, the city's train station -- where Kasab and another gunman killed 52 people -- and a Jewish cultural center were all targeted by the men. Reports indicate the men set out for Mumbai from Pakistan. From early on in the investigation, militant group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba was suspected of being behind the attacks which claimed the lives of Indians and foreigners, as well as civilians and security personnel. The group denies these claims. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba is banned in Pakistan and designated a terrorist group by the United States, In his confession on Monday, Kasab told the court Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, one of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba's key operatives and a man arrested by Pakistani authorities in December, was instrumental in planning the Mumbai attacks. The U.S. government suspects Lakhvi of being the mastermind behind terrorist activities in other parts of the world, including Bosnia, Chechnya and Iraq.

Photo by Vinukumar Ranganathan

This photo was taken right after a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India. It was sent to DigitalJournal.com by citizen journalist Vinukumar Ranganathan who was on the streets with his camera as it happened. Hundreds of people were killed and wounded as terrorists took hostages.

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Prosecutors are still not convinced that Kasab's motives in pleading guilty are entirely noble. Ujjwal Nikam, the chief public prosecutor in the case, suggested the confession was "inconsistent with the prosecution evidence" and was an attempt by Kasab to portray himself as a mere foot soldier taking orders from somebody else, more specifically Abu Ismail, the man who was killed during the attack at the train station in which he and Kasab were involved. Mr Nikam, who wants the trial to continue despite the confession, said in court:

Very shrewdly, very cleverly Qasab has tried to save his own skin by showing he was acting as a subordinate to Abu Ismail. He knows that by denying a major role, no Indian court is going to award him the death penalty.

According to the BBC it was at that point Kasab made an extraordinary appeal to presiding judge ML Tahiliyani, saying :

If anyone believes that I am doing this to get mercy, then go ahead and hang me. Since I have committed the crime in this world, I should be punished in this world. I do not want to be punished by Allah.

Kasab's lawyer, Abbas Kazmi, insisted the new plea of guilty had not been entered after a recommendation by him and the confession must be struck from the records if the trial does continue.

Photo by Vinukumar Ranganathan

This photo was taken right after a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India. It was sent to DigitalJournal.com by citizen journalist Vinukumar Ranganathan who was on the streets with his camera as it happened. Hundreds of people were killed and wounded as terrorists took hostages.

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Judge Tahiliyani, however, was adamant the young man fully understood what sentence he might face if he confessed. The judge explained his reasons for believing that to be the case:

The accused has been following what is transpiring in the court. He said he wasn't looking for lesser punishment. He said even if the death penalty was awarded, he would not mind. So further clarification is not needed.

The court is due to reconvene tomorrow when the judge will confirm if the trial is to continue or if the confession made by Kasab has effectively brought it to an end.