26/11: Mumbai wants Ajmal Kasab hanged right now
'If the number of signatures we collected at a single place in the city is an indication, then most of us living in Mumbai want Kasab to be hanged immediately,' Hyder Azam, co-convener of NIJAAT, a social group, said.
The city wants Kasab to be hanged at the earliest — that was the prevailing sentiment on Friday, the second anniversary of the November 26 terror attack.“If the number of signatures we collected at a single place in the city is an indication, then most of us living in Mumbai want Kasab to be hanged immediately,” Hyder Azam, co-convener of NIJAAT, a social group, said.The group held a signature campaign at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) demanding an ‘immediate death by hanging’ for the lone surviving terrorist.All through Friday afternoon, thousands of commuters at CST stopped patiently to hear what the activists had to say about the campaign. Most of them signed the petition eagerly while a few needed some convincing.“Kasab needs to be hanged and soon,” Manoj Sharma, a bank employee, said. I do not understand why the government is wasting time and energy on him even after the trial is over and he has been convicted.”At least 2.5 lakh Mumbaikars signed the petition at CST between 2pm and 7.30pm seeking the death penalty for Kasab, Azam said. Deepika Surve, a receptionist at a South Mumbai office, said a death penalty for Kasab would be a lesson to all terrorists. “No one should be able to get away with a crime so huge,” Surve said. “We need to send out a message that fundamentalists will have to bear the consequences of their actions.”NIJAAT was formed two years ago after Mumbai was still reeling under the impact of the November 26 terror attack. “We are seeking justice for those affected by terrorism,” Azam said. “We aim to collect 25 crore signatures from all over the country in the next two weeks. We will then meet the president with our demand for a speedy disposal of the Kasab case.”