The fateful day did finally arrive for Mumbai!
Ajmal Amir Kasab got the death sentence by the Special courts judge Mr. M. L. Tahilyani on 6th May 2010, more than a year after the carnage he and his associates brought to the island city of Mumbai and horrified an entire nation with their depravity and absolute lack of any humanity.
"You have been sentenced to death on five counts. You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead." These were the words uttered by the esteemed judge who made a special note of the cruelty and sadism with which the baby-faced terrorist behaved while showering bullets mindlessly on everyone in his line of sight. Eye witnesses testified to him laughing in glee while killing so many innocents in cold blood!! In a message to terrorist organizations the honorable judge made it absolutely clear that “every man who wages war against India forfeits his life to the Indian state”.
How much brain-washing must have gone into the process of turning an adolescent boy into a hardened criminal is anybody's guess and with all the proof that the prosecution has gathered and presented in the court to establish the crime and nationality of this beast, fingers are again lifting towards Pakistan. With the NY Times Square bomb scare again leading the authorities to arrest a Pakistan trained Pakistani national, the country has again emerged as the last haven of Islamic radicals who have twisted the basic tenets of Islam for their own benefit to fulfill their own twisted agenda.
Be that as it may, the judgment at least provides a semblance of closure to hundreds of people who lost their loved ones to this senseless carnage. The judge referred to recordings of telephonic conversations between the gunmen holed up at various locations and their handlers sitting in Pakistan. “There was no remorse at the killing of so many people. The gunmen had come prepared to die,” he said. And hence, the judge gave his FIRST death sentence in his 23 years legal career.
26/11/08 was the ill-fated day when Pakistani terrorists arrived on Mumbai shores and shook the nation up from its slumber. For three days we were all trapped inside our homes, afraid to get out of our homes and glued to our television sets to find out if there was an end in sight for the mindless violence that was happening in our own backyard. Today, we can all breathe a sigh of relief for justice has finally caught up with Kasab!
Although criticized by many as a wastage of national resources (more than 35 crores have been spent on this trial and keeping Kasab secure), the 18 month long trial was a tribute to the fairness of Indian judiciary in dealing with any perpetrator of crime on its soil. Tahaliyani made a special mention of the work done by the media in taking the news to the world. “This was not a closed court, like the one in Pakistan, where you don’t even know what’s happening,’’ he said.
One wish that everyone has on his lips now, is to swiftly execute this demon before another plane can be hijacked to rescue him from our captivity (aka the Gandhar hijack)! As the saying goes, 'Justice delayed is justice denied'; same holds true for the execution of the court's writ.
Mumbaikars and indeed the entire nation will be waiting for the day when finally the ghost of 26/11 can be put to rest. Amen.
Ajmal Amir Kasab got the death sentence by the Special courts judge Mr. M. L. Tahilyani on 6th May 2010, more than a year after the carnage he and his associates brought to the island city of Mumbai and horrified an entire nation with their depravity and absolute lack of any humanity.
"You have been sentenced to death on five counts. You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead." These were the words uttered by the esteemed judge who made a special note of the cruelty and sadism with which the baby-faced terrorist behaved while showering bullets mindlessly on everyone in his line of sight. Eye witnesses testified to him laughing in glee while killing so many innocents in cold blood!! In a message to terrorist organizations the honorable judge made it absolutely clear that “every man who wages war against India forfeits his life to the Indian state”.
How much brain-washing must have gone into the process of turning an adolescent boy into a hardened criminal is anybody's guess and with all the proof that the prosecution has gathered and presented in the court to establish the crime and nationality of this beast, fingers are again lifting towards Pakistan. With the NY Times Square bomb scare again leading the authorities to arrest a Pakistan trained Pakistani national, the country has again emerged as the last haven of Islamic radicals who have twisted the basic tenets of Islam for their own benefit to fulfill their own twisted agenda.
Be that as it may, the judgment at least provides a semblance of closure to hundreds of people who lost their loved ones to this senseless carnage. The judge referred to recordings of telephonic conversations between the gunmen holed up at various locations and their handlers sitting in Pakistan. “There was no remorse at the killing of so many people. The gunmen had come prepared to die,” he said. And hence, the judge gave his FIRST death sentence in his 23 years legal career.
26/11/08 was the ill-fated day when Pakistani terrorists arrived on Mumbai shores and shook the nation up from its slumber. For three days we were all trapped inside our homes, afraid to get out of our homes and glued to our television sets to find out if there was an end in sight for the mindless violence that was happening in our own backyard. Today, we can all breathe a sigh of relief for justice has finally caught up with Kasab!
Although criticized by many as a wastage of national resources (more than 35 crores have been spent on this trial and keeping Kasab secure), the 18 month long trial was a tribute to the fairness of Indian judiciary in dealing with any perpetrator of crime on its soil. Tahaliyani made a special mention of the work done by the media in taking the news to the world. “This was not a closed court, like the one in Pakistan, where you don’t even know what’s happening,’’ he said.
One wish that everyone has on his lips now, is to swiftly execute this demon before another plane can be hijacked to rescue him from our captivity (aka the Gandhar hijack)! As the saying goes, 'Justice delayed is justice denied'; same holds true for the execution of the court's writ.
Mumbaikars and indeed the entire nation will be waiting for the day when finally the ghost of 26/11 can be put to rest. Amen.
