The gunman at the CST was not me, says Ajmal

The short, gun-toting terrorist who sprayed bullets on scores of people at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus [CST] railway station on the night of November 26, 2008, was not me, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab said the court on Friday.

Additional principal judge ML Tahaliyani recorded his statement under section 313 of the criminal procedure code [CrPC]. However, lawyers said that Kasab’s statement was of no evidentiary value.

With his clean-shaven face twitched in a mischievous smile, Kasab, dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, said that he was not the lone surviving 26/11 terrorist, as the police had claimed. He, in fact, was a poor Pakistani man who had suffered in the hands of the cops. “I was in police lockup when the attack took place. They had detained me 20 days before the attack. After the attack, they framed me in the case.”

Kasab denied having been seen by any of the witnesses in the case. Commenting on their accounts, he said, “All witnesses have said the same thing. They said there was a butka (shortie) and a lambu (tall fellow).” Later, he added, “Butka main nahin, butka mar gaya (the shortie they saw is dead).”

Explaining, he said, “Abu Ali is my look-alike. I heard about him from crime branch (officers).” Kasab said Abu Ali was the terrorist who attacked the Taj Hotel. “The images at the CST were taken at 10:50 pm, while the images at the Taj were taken at 4 am the next day. The man went from the CST to the Taj.”

Kasab said that the police had picked him up from Juhu. “I was in Juhu chowpatty when the police caught me. Picture ke chakkar main aaya tha. I had a passport and a Sony Ericsson 500 mobile phone. Some boys from my village lived here, and I was looking for an accommodation,” he said.

The only thing that Kasab did not deny was his Pakistani origin. When asked how he came to Mumbai, he said, “Main train se aya tha. Apni Samjhauta Express mein.” It brought him to New Delhi, and from there he took a train to Mumbai.

He claimed that on seeing his Pakistani passport, the local police detained him. After the 26/11 attack, he was handed over to the crime branch. The alleged gunman said, “I have never seen an AK-47 in my life.”

Kasab denied both his confessions — one made before additional chief metropolitan magistrate RG Sawant-Waghule, and the other, a plea of guilt before the court on July 20. He said that he had signed a false confession before the magistrate. About the plea of guilt, he said, “The police gave me a statement in Urdu to read and memorise it. I made that statement after the police threatened me.”

Asked why he had not mentioned the police threat earlier, Kasab said, “I pleaded guilty so that you can punish me and send me to another jail. I again request you to send me to another jail, so that I can find some peace of mind.”

The judge asked him about the youngest witness — 10-year old Devika Rotawan, who identified him as the terrorist at the CST. Kasab said, “She is a child. She will say what her parents have taught her. I was not there (at the CST).” About the police witness at the CST, he told the judge, “He is a policeman... These policemen have made me a criminal.”

The identification parade was a farce, Kasab said. “They were shown my photos before entering the jail. One witness could not identify me. He came two times. Later, a police officer gestured at him to point at me.”