The lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attacks pleaded guilty on Monday and gave a detailed account of the plot and his role in the rampage, AP reported.Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told reporters outside court that Kasab had realised "the cat was out of the bag" after 134 witnesses gave evidence against him since the trial began in April. Nikam linked the confession to the forthcoming trial in Pakistan of five men accused of involvement in the attacks, including key Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LT) operatives Zarar Shah and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind.
In a verbal statement, Ajmal Kasab described his assault on a railway station and a hospital with a comrade he identified as Abu Ismail, according to Reuters.
The other gunmen attacked a Jewish centre and two five-star hotels. "I was firing and Abu Ismail was hurling hand grenades (at the railway station)," Kasab told the court. Before coming to India, Kasab said he lived in a house in Karachi for a month and a half with 10 other young men. They were taken to another house and then to sea where they met four handlers. One of them was an Indian named Abu Zundal, he said. Last month, the special court also issued arrest warrants for 22 Pakistanis accused of masterminding the attacks. Before the trial, Kasab's lawyer Abbas Kazmi told AFP in an interview that he faced a "nearly impossible task" defending his client.
To be continued: Judge ML Tahiliyani said no immediate judgement would be issued and the trial will resume today (Tuesday). Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit declined to comment on Kasab's confession.