We had only lathis: 2nd 26/11 witness tells court

Assistant police inspector Sanjay Govilkar, who was part of the team that nabbed the lone-surviving alleged terrorist in 26/11 attacks, Mohammed Ajmal Amir, alias Kasab, told the court on Monday that most of them had only lathis and no firearms.

Govilkar was present at the scene along with slain assistant sub-inspector Tukaram Ombale, and was also shot at by Ajmal, suffering injuries to his abdomen. Even Ombale was not carrying any firearm, Govilkar told the court.

Govilkar looked tense while recounting the incident and even sought permission to take a two-minute break to drink water. He identified Ajmal as the ‘terrorist’ who shot Ombale and also recognised the AK-47 rifle allegedly used by him.

“When the Skoda car driver (Abu Ismail) tried to take a U-turn to escape, the divider got in the way. That’s when Ombale and I rushed towards the door of the front passenger seat,” said Govilkar. According to Govilkar, Ajmal then stepped out with his AK-47 rifle.

“Ombale and I tried to snatch his weapon, but he held on to it tightly, fell on the road, and started firing at us,” said Govilkar. “Soon, other police officers arrived and starting assaulting Ajmal with lathis. Only then could Ajmal be disarmed,” he added.

Later, during cross-examination, Govilkar said that Ombale had fallen down after being shot. This statement is contrary to Kadam’s deposition in which he said that Ombale had pounced on Ajmal.