By NNN-PTI,
Mumbai : M L Tahiliyani has been appointed as a Special Judge to conduct the trial in the Nov 26 terror attacks in the metropolis in which over 180 persons were killed.
Tahiliyani will preside over the trial of Mohammed Ajmal Amir, a Pakistani national and the lone arrested terrorist in the group of ten who carried out the attack, in 12 cases registered against them, city Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor said Monday night.
Tahiliyani, a former CBI court judge, is currently Registrar (Inspection) at the Bombay High Court.
Ujjwal Nikam, who was the state counsel in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, has already been appointed Public Prosecutor in the case.
Police are expected to file a chargesheet before Jan 24. Ajmal, whose Pakistani identity has been acknowledged by Islamabad, will face charges ranging from murder, attempt to murder and waging a war against the country, officials said.
The chargesheet will cover mainly Ajmal’s conversation with his handlers in Pakistan, his interrogation report besides eyewitnesses who saw him spraying bullets on the night of Nov 26.
Police have decided to club all the 12 cases filed on the intervening night of Nov 26-27.
Sources in Maharashtra government have said the trial is likely to be held inside the high-security Arthur Road jail, where the trial and sentencing of nearly 100 accused took place in the 1993 blasts.
Meanwhile, police reported that one of the witnesses in the Mumbai terror attacks case, who saw the terrorists land on the city’s shores, has gone missing.
Anita Uddaiya, who saw the 10 terrorists arrive at the Fisherman’s Colony in Cuffe Parade on Nov 26, has been missing since Jan 11.
Police said they have launched a manhunt for the missing witness, who had been taken to the J J Hospital earlier to identify the bodies of the nine killed terrorists.
The missing persons complaint was lodged by Uddaiya’s daughter after she went missing from her house in the Cuffe Parade’s Fisherman’s Colony.