Hang Kasab now: Smita Salaskar

SITTING, WAITING, WATCHING: The family of late home guard Mukesh Bhikaji Jadhav watches the news at their Sion home; kin of late Ambadas Pawar, who died at CST, glued to their TV set; a cop pays his respects to the late Tukaram Omble

KASAB: THE NOOSE TIGHTENS

Mateen Hafeez & Bella Jaisinghani TNN

Mumbai: Now that the highest court of the land has decided the fate of Ajmal Kasab, the unanimous verdict among 26/11 martyrs’ families is that the Pakistani extremist should be hanged without further delay. They want the recourse of presidential pardon to be “bypassed” in Kasab’s instance lest the case “go into cold storage like that of Afzal Guru”.
 

    Smita Salaskar, the widow of officer Vijay Salaskar, says, “I want Kasab to be hanged at once. It frustrates me to see that the Indian Constitution, which was drafted to protect our own people, is being used to serve the interests of a foreign terrorist. We have given Kasab several opportunities to defend himself despite visible evidence of his crimes. Now that we have given the Pakistani extremist a fair trial, it is time the Congress government shows a heart for its own citizens.”
 

    Slain ATS chief Hemant Karkare’s wife Kavita shares the sentiment. “Let us hang this man soon and finish the matter. We must not allow Kasab to seek presidential pardon because that is an endless saga. My children and I have waited four years for the curtains to draw on the injustice done to us,” she says.
 

    Two prominent corporate leaders, Ashok Kapur of Yes Bank and developer Pankaj Shah, lost their lives at Oberoi Hotel in 26/11 terror attack. “If the matter must go for the president’s approval, I want Kasab’s case to jump the queue. Like Afzal Guru, it cannot be put into cold storage. We must not be seen as a soft 

state which allows enemies to get away with mass murder,” says Ashok’s wife Madhu Kapur.
 

    Shah’s wife Kalpana says, “Four years is a long wait. Our judicial system takes too long. This drama over Kasab’s hanging must end at once. I will be satisfied the day the Congress government shows the will to pursue the masterminds across the border but that, by all evidence, is unlikely to happen in our lifetime.”
 

    A bitter Madhavi More, wife of martyred sub-inspector Prakash More, says, “We keep hearing the word ‘phansi’ but are yet to see any signs of execution drawing near. He didn’t think for a second before killing Indians but we are mulling his fate for four years,” she says.
 

    Among the police officers who captured Kasab alive was inspector Hemant Bhawdhankar, later awarded the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry. “Like any Indian, I want Kasab to be hanged at the earliest. The Supreme Court’s conviction has proved that we have a fair judicial system. Kasab was tried and found guilty at every stage,” Bhawdhankar says.

The Times of India, August 30, 2012