10,000 - Page Chargesheet, 270 Witnesses, a few Hiccups..

Exactly a year after the Mumbai terror attack, the prosecution in the 26/11 trial is likely to complete evidence against the three arrested accused in the case Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab and two Indian co-accused Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed, charged with conspiring the attack along with 35 wanted Pakistani nationals on Pakistan soil.
Among the charges levelled against them include waging war against the nation, which attracts punishment of death.
The trial, presided over by Special Sessions Judge M L Tahaliyani, commenced in April inside the special court housed inside the Arthur Road prison. The court framed 86 charges against the three accused on May 6. Two days later, the first witness, Bhaskar Kadam, an officer with the D B Marg police station who was part of the team that captured Kasab, was examined.
However, before the trial could begin, there was a major issue who would defend Kasab as lawyers did not want to take up his case on account of 'morals' and political pressures. The court first appointed Anjali Waghmare as defence lawyer from the state legal aid panel, but Judge Tahaliyani sacked her on charges of professional misconduct.
Soon after, the court appointed private lawyer Abbas Kazmi, who had earlier represented the accused in the 1993 serial bomb blast case, to defend Kasab. The court also recommended higher legal fees to be paid to him by the state government and handed over the 10,000-page chargesheet to him. Immediately after taking charge, Kazmi prayed before the court that Kasab was a juvenile, and that his case should be transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board. In reply, the prosecution conducted several medical tests and examined witnesses to prove that Kasab was 21-year-old at the time of the attack.
As the prosecution examined evidence in the form of injured victims and relatives of deceased, Kasab on July 20 made a request to the court for making a detailed statement accepting all charges levelled against him. In a guilty plea given by Kasab over two days, he gave details about training in handling arms and ammunition and intelligence gathering given to him in Pakistan, and also about the directions given to him on executing the attack along with his nine deceased accomplices.
After due consideration, the court took Kasab's plea on record but carried on with the trial. Since then, the prosecution has examined 270 witnesses and is likely to rest its case against the accused today. It is also likely to submit evidence of around 300 formal witnesses in the form of affidavits.
The goof-upsThe evidence led by the prosecution might have made the case watertight, but several goof-ups did crop up while doing so Inspector Prakash Bhoite, who investigated the attack on the Taj Hotel, told the court that the police had found two bombs near the hotel during the attack and one contained a note which said "Ammar Askari". A translator used by the police translated it as "Yeh jang ki or ishara hai" or "This is a pointer to war". However, when the defense lawyer cross-examined the translator Mukhtar Pirzade, an insurance agent in Bhiwandi, it was placed on record that he could not read or write Arabic, and that a friend had translated the note for him.
No further probes were conducted by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on the identity of Suresh Prasad, who had submitted a fake electricity bill to procure the mobile SIM card that was used by the terrorists in the Taj Hotel to communicate with their handlers in Pakistan.
Police Inspector Manikrao Patil of Colaba police station, who conducted the preliminary investigations at three attack sites (the Taj Hotel, Nariman House and Caf Leopold) and seized various articles handed over to him by the National Security Guards (NSG), failed to recall in the court the accurate details of the seizures made by him.
Patil was also the officer responsible for goof up during the seizure of articles by placing articles seized from the Taj Hotel in wrappers meant for Nariman House and vice versa. He cited work pressure after the attack as the reason behind the error.

TAJ HOTEL FOR ANOTHER 100 YEARS…

Mumbai's iconic Taj Mahal Hotel may have borne the brunt of the 26/11 terror attack, but it's now going to be prepared to last another 100 years. As we take a look at the hotel's collateral damage during 26/11, here's more on the epic structure and the management's plans for its reconstruction...

Karambir Singh Kang, general manager of the Taj Mahal Palace Tower, Mumbai, who lost his wife and two children during 26/11 attacks last year, clearly feels a raw attachment to the iconic property. 'The hotel has never been shut since it opened in 1903; even during World War I, it was converted into a hospital,' emphasises 41-year-old Kang.

After the attacks, the hotel was forced to close completely, though they proudly reopened the Tower Wing within a month. Kang has been orchestrating the reformation of the hotel that suffered severe damages in last year's terrorist attacks and the hotel management has been putting up its best efforts for opening the Palace Wing as soon as possible. Its like 'turning adversity into opportunity by giving the grand old lady a makeover', says Kang.

The Palace Wing, expected to be ready in the next quarter, has employed five different contractors. 'These firms have worked with hotels such as The Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental,' Kang points out proudly. The new Palace Wing will have slightly fewer rooms, upgraded IT systems and ergonomic workspaces.

Interestingly, though the critical wiring and plumbing systems are also being changed; the same would not have been possible if the wing was operational. 'We are thus ensuring that the Taj is prepared for another 100 years,' Kang smiles.

In terms of business, the hotel's revenue had dipped considerably partly due to the attacks and partly due to the recession as the industry as a whole went through tough times. 'Corporate customers depend on the economy; when firms cut costs, they first cut on travel and stay,' Kang explains.

He, however, sees light at the end of the tunnel. He is optimistic as the last three months have seen a turnaround with occupancy rates over 75 per cent. 'We beat internal targets by 15-20 per cent. Our footfalls have increased. And once our contemporised restaurants open, we expect to especially attract customers under 40,' he says, referring to Wasabi, Golden Dragon and The Harbour Bar, which are expected to open before November 26.

When asked about motivating his staff as a leader, Kang compliments his team as any generous leader would do. 'During the attacks, everyone stayed at their posts contrary to the natural instinct to flee; that never happens in any other industry. No staff member has asked to be transferred to any other hotel,' Kang says. For those who had difficulty coping with the loss, counselling centres were set up after a few days, he adds.
Kang has been part of the Taj group for 19 years and is in his second stint at the group's flagship hotel, the first stint was in 2003 as director of sales & marketing and then he became general manager in 2007. Ask him if he is considering moving on to a different role, at all, and he says: 'I plan to stay with this hotel for as long as I can contribute to it.'

Grief & Grit as Indians remember 60 hours of Terror..

New Delhi/Mumbai: Some moments are seared into the collective consciousness of the nation -- like 26/11. The utter helplessness came back to haunt on the first anniversary of India's most wounding terror strike, but with it was a sense of resolve as thousands prepared to gather in various cities to remember the dead and also hope for a terror-free tomorrow.
The trauma started on the night on Nov 26, 2008, when terrorists who came by boat from Pakistan sneaked into its commercial megalopolis to begin a 60-hour siege that ended only on the afternoon on Nov 28. At the end, 166 people were dead, nine of the 10 terrorists killed and India brought to its knees as horrified citizens watched masked gunmen take over a much loved city.
It was terror in a television age played out for the world to watch. Mumbaikar or not, Indian or not, the scenes of terrorists taking over luxury hotels, a crowded station, a buzzing cafe and of top police officials being killed brought the vulnerability home.
Millions fearfully watched their television sets for three nights and three days, till the last of the terrorists were decimated in the Jewish Chabad House. The fires burning from the dome of the Taj Hotel, survivors breaking through glass to make their escape, two-year-old Moshe being brought out by his nanny from Chabad House while his parents were massacred inside... the trauma lives to this day.
As stunned security agencies probed the hows and whys of the most daring non-military attack that penetrated into the country's most elite establishments, the government set itself a roadmap to secure India and found global backing in its war against terror.
In a statement on the eve of the anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday: 'The attacks in Mumbai last year were an outrage. No one who watched the events unfold on television will forget the way that those responsible sought to cause the greatest fear and suffering.
'Their misguided aim was to create terror and uncertainty in the region. The government and the people of India were neither cowed nor provoked by these atrocities but stood resolute.'
A year on, the fallout has been changes in the security mindset and the premium put on strengthening internal security. Basic protocols, strategies and tactics for an appropriate response have been listed.
Making the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) - tasked with collecting intelligence in real time - fully operational has been perhaps the most tangible achievement.
'In the last 11 months, we have been able to bust 31 terror modules. Optimising
intelligence flow and coordination between different agencies has helped vastly,' said a senior security official who spoke about the valuable lessons imbibed.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who Prime Minister Manmohan Singh put in charge of internal security after public outrage over the previous home minister Shivraj Patil's seeming ineptitude, has set for himself a blazing pace to put in place critical strategies and strengthen intelligence systems, admits the country's record has been mixed.
'... there are still critical deficiencies in budget allocations for the police, recruitment, training, procurement of equipment, introduction of technology, and personnel management.'
Pointing to obvious lapses when a police force equipped with old age .303 rifles took on terrorists armed with sophisticated weaponry, Manmohan Singh told police chiefs in September: 'We need a new-age policeman who is more professional, better-motivated, suitably empowered, well-trained, one who places greater emphasis on technology for investigation and other tasks.'
Terrorism expert Ajay Sahni believes more needs to be done at a war-footing.
'Petty offences, which are not taken seriously by security agencies, are often found interlinked to a major terror operation. Our intelligence system should be in place. Effective security systems are needed to counter terrorism,' Sahni told IANS.
Considering that Mumbai not just gripped the country's consciousness but also drew global attention, intelligence sharing with foreign countries has also received a major fillip.
It is because of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation assistance that security agencies have been able to probe the links of David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, currently in US detention, who are alleged part of the larger conspiracy behind 26/11.
Terrorism is a beast with an extraordinary ability to transform, and the war has still a long way to go.
But it will be fought with citizens vowing not to be cowed down.
'We have to move ahead in life,' said Priyanka Baliram Uke, a young manager in a private Mumbai company.
Fortified by his grief, 16-year-old Siddhant who lost his father Sushilkumar Sharma when terrorists stormed into the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in a blaze of bullets, is also determined to look ahead.
The family has set up the Shaheed Sushilkumar Sharma Foundation in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, in memory of the assistant chief ticketing inspector.
'We shall have commemorative prayer there Nov 26, organize a few children's events with the theme of peace and anti-terrorism, felicitate people who display bravery and courage in day-to-day life. We shall repeat a similar programme in Kalyan on Nov 29,' said Siddhant.
For long India has managed to absorb the shock and move ahead. The lessons this time are different -- it will no longer be business as usual.