Vinita Kamte welcomes confirmation of death penalty to Ajmal Kasab

Welcoming the confirmation of death penalty awarded to Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab for his role in the Mumbai attacks, the wife of 26/11 martyr IPS officer Ashok Kamte today demanded his execution at the earliest.

"Like everyone else, I also expected the Bombay high court to confirm the death sentence to Kasab. I welcome the judgement and expect that the punishment would be executed at the earliest," Vineeta Kamte said.

It was the rarest of rare case and everyone could see Kasab firing at people, killing them mercilessly, Kamte said adding, "the terrorist always deserved the toughest punishment."

The widow of then additional police commissioner said the Indian government needs to introduce stronger laws to punish terrorists so that the would not even think of such attacks.

"Three or six months after the attack, Kasab should have been hanged. Going by the pace of the trial, it was felt that this was also considered like any other case. Due to various provisions and the prevailing legal system, he is unfortunately still safe and may also appeal before Supreme Court or approach the president," Vineeta said.

If the Indian government wants to instill confidence among citizens, it should execute punishment to Kasab at the earliest, said Vineeta, who penned The Last Bullet a book on her late husband.

On November 26, 2008, Kamte, ATS chief Hemant Karkare and 'encounter specialist' Vijay Salaskar died fighting Kasab and his accomplice Ismail Khan at the Cama hospital during the terror strikes, which left 166 people dead.