By IANS,
Mumbai : At least 15 CCTV cameras installed inside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) were non-functional Nov 26 last year when Pakistani terrorists Ajmal Amir Kasab and Abu Ismail fired indiscriminately at passengers, a special court hearing the Mumbai attacks trial was informed here Thursday.
However, six cameras installed in the suburban section of CST were working and they caught the moving images of the terrorists, which were displayed before special judge M.L. Tahilyani in the afternoon.
The low quality video footage shows gory images of the terrorist duo gunning down the passengers and terrified people running in all directions during the Nov 26 terrorist strikes. On that day, 10 Pakistani militants sailed into Mumbai and launched attacks at many place, killing over 170 people.
One of the perpetrators of the heinous crime and the prime accused, Kasab watched the footage – displayed on a small screen – silently and without any expression.
Deposing before Tahilyani, Railway Protection Force (RPF) inspector Sandeep Kirtikar said a total of 21 cameras were installed at the CST premises, including the suburban and long distance sections.
The 15 cameras installed in the long distance sections were not functioning as they were under maintenance, Kirtikar told the court.
On the suburban section, one camera was installed on each of the six platforms. Footage of nearly 20 minutes, recorded from the cameras on Platform 1 and 3 – of the total 75 minutes – was shown in the court Thursday.
The footage shows the shootout between the terrorists and the policemen at the CST entrance near the Central Railway General Manager’s office and another on Platform 1.
It also shows the exchange of fire between Kasab and an earlier witness, RPF cop Jullu Yadav who tried to stop the terrorist with a plastic chair as his gun failed to fire.
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the footage is of immense corroborative value as it supported the statements of several earlier witnesses in the case.
Judge Tahilyani said the CCTV footage would be taken on record as secondary evidence.