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The Today's News

Verdict due on Mumbai gunman's appeal

NEW DELHI: India's Supreme Court was due Wednesday to deliver its verdict on an appeal against the death sentence handed down to the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Mohammed Kasab, one of 10 gunmen who laid siege to Mumbai in attacks that lasted nearly three days and killed 166 people, launched his appeal claiming he had not been given a fair trial. He was found guilty of charges including waging war against India, murder and terrorist acts, and was given the death penalty in May 2010. Two Supreme Court judges in New Delhi have heard the appeal of Pakistan-born Kasab, who is currently held in a maximum-security prison in Mumbai. If he loses his Supreme Court petition, he can lodge a final appeal for clemency with the president. During the November 2008 attacks, heavily armed gunmen stormed targets in Mumbai including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a hospital and a bustling train station. Kasab initially pleaded not guilty but later confessed, admitting he was one of the gunmen sent by the LeT. “I was denied a fair trial," Kasab said in a statement when his appeal hearing began in January. "I may be guilty of killing people and carrying out a terrorist act but I am not guilty of waging war against the state."