Death sentence confirmed for Mumbai attacker
Two Indian judges on Monday confirmed the death sentence for the sole surviving gunman of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which 10 Islamist gunmen laid siege to the city, killing 166 people. The Bombay High Court dismissed the claim by Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab that he was wrongfully convicted of taking part in the attacks, likened in India to those in the United States on September 11, 2001.
The judges also threw out the state’s appeal against a lower court’s decision to acquit two Indian nationals who were accused of providing hand-drawn maps to the 10 gunmen. Kasab, who has not attended the appeal for security reasons but has been able to follow proceedings via video link, looked at the floor as the judgment was handed down, news channel NDTV said.
“Harsh penalty of death is required in some cases, especially this one, and the court would be sending a wrong signal to society if any penalty less than death is given,” judges Ranjana Desai and R.V. More said in their ruling.