Nagpur: Rajya Sabha member and noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam on Saturday said he deliberately used the story of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab demanding mutton biryani to counter what he described as an 'emotional' media narrative during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack trial.
'If fake narratives are set up for the benefit of common man, justice and law and order, then they are acceptable,' Nikam said. Nikam was speaking at Devarshi Narad Jayanti Patrakar Samman Samaroh at Vanamati Hall in Nagpur on Saturday. The event was organised by Vishwa Samwad Kendra.
Recalling an incident from the 2008 Mumbai attacks trial, Nikam said he had a rakhi on his wrist when he met Kasab once. 'Kasab asked me what was it? I said don't you know what it is? Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the commandant of Lashkar-e-Taiba, had tied a rakhi to your wrist. Kasab said that it was tied by David Headley. I even told a judge about this discussion. During that conversation, Kasab touched his eye. Later, some journalists started running stories that Kasab was missing his sister and that the govt was turning him into a scapegoat while main criminals were out of reach,' Nikam said.
He said that after the court proceedings, reporters surrounded him with questions. 'I told reporters that Kasab had asked me for a mutton biryani. This changed the headline overnight,' he said.
The special public prosecutor also highlighted that India, as a democracy governed by the rule of law, followed every legal procedure before carrying out Kasab's death sentence. 'After the trial I went to Pakistan but nobody there questioned that Kasab was not properly tried under law. On the other hand, many senior lawyer and even retired judges in India were pushing that he should be hanged for his crime,' Nikam said.
He added that despite public outrage over the attacks, Indian justice system ensured due process, reflecting the country's commitment to constitutional values and rule of law.
