NEW DELHI: In comments that could put a question mark on the trial and execution of Ajmal Kasab in India, the prosecutor who represented the state in the Mumbai terror case was quoted on Saturday as saying the Pakistani convict never asked for special meals during his confinement, contrary to a previous claim that he had asked for biryani.

According to the Indian Express, Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor, disclosed on Friday that Kasab had “never demanded nor was he given” mutton biryani while in custody. He said he “made up the statement… just to divert people’s attention”.

“That one remark of Nikam had led to public demands for a quick trial,” the newspaper said. “It became a common refrain on social media and elsewhere.”

“Why feed them biryani” became a catchphrase whether it was a discussion on Afzal Guru or the Coast Guard’s sinking of an alleged Pakistani boat off the coast of Gujarat.

Mr Nikam, who made the admission at a counter-terrorism conference in Jaipur on Friday, told The Indian Express later: “Media has to play a responsible role and has to be vigilant. They hyped his tears and portrayed him as a scapegoat, a young boy, which was not right.”

“There was a hullabaloo after the media reported that Kasab had turned emotional and was crying during the trial. There should not be a media trial as Kasab was not repenting, he was only pretending,” he said.

“Following the media hype, I saw a tilt in people’s perspectives. It was then that I made up the statement and said he (Kasab) had demanded mutton biryani just to divert the people’s attention.”

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Senior lawyer Rohini Salian, who was public prosecutor in prominent trials including the Ghatkopar and Mulund bomb blasts case, said such a comment should never have been made by an officer of the court.

“We are representatives of the public as well as the society. As an officer of the court, I have no right to come to a conclusion. It is my duty to present the truth to the court and then leave it to the court to take a decision. As prosecutors, we can’t be biased. We must present the case independently and without hatred for anyone,” the Express quoted Ms Salian as saying. She added that prosecutors must not make comments for publicity.

The paper quoted Abbas Kazmi, the lawyer who represented Kasab during the trial, as slamming Mr Nikam, saying he had insisted all along that Kasab never asked for biryani.

“Nikam also claimed that Kasab had demanded expensive perfume. That too wasn’t the case. Kasab told me the toilet in his cell had a broken flush and he, therefore, requested some ittar.”

Mr Kazmi said Mr Nikam had “no right to instigate the common man... it was unethical, immoral and was meant to misguide the court”.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2015

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