Medical tests show that the lone surviving suspect in last year’s Mumbai terrorist attacks is not a juvenile, so should be tried as an adult, prosecutors said Tuesday.
A panel of four doctors carried out dental and bone tests to determine Mohammed Ajmal Kasab’s age, as ordered by the judge, and determined that he is older than 20, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told reporters. The prosecution also presented two witnesses to support its claims that Kasab is not a juvenile, as he claimed. His attorney had said that his client is a minor whose case belongs in juvenile court. A doctor who examined Kasab after his arrest in November and a jail superintendent were deposed in court as prosecution witnesses. Defense attorney Abbas Kazmi, who insists his client is underage, told CNN that on Wednesday he would cross-examine the doctors who carried out the tests on Kasab, focusing on what he called a possible margin of error in their report. Kasab is charged with 12 criminal counts including murder, attempted murder and waging war against India. He has recanted, saying he confessed under duress. He was caught on surveillance camera holding a gun as he stalked and killed people inside Mumbai’s main train station in November, police said. Kasab is also accused of shooting people at Mumbai’s Cama hospital. Kasab is one of 10 Pakistani nationals who police said unleashed terror on Mumbai, India’s financial capital, for four days and three nights.
Police said the gunmen killed more than 160 people as they took over three luxury hotels and a Jewish center, and shot up several other places, including a popular restaurant. The attack was an effort to capture Kashmir, prosecutors said. A dispute over whether India or Pakistan owns the territory has led to wars between the two countries.
