The Mumbai Police have requested the Union Home Ministry to utilize Interpol to serve court orders against six fugitives linked to the 26/11 terror attacks. Among those targeted are Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, both founders of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). This move aims to facilitate their trial in absentia for their alleged roles in the attacks that shocked the nation.
The police, represented by special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, submitted on Friday an interim report on the proclamation order issued in July this year against the absconding accused for initiating the process for trial in absentia. Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, mandates full criminal trials in absentia for proclaimed offenders, who have absconded to evade trial and where there is no immediate prospect of arrest.
“We have written to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for taking necessary steps in serving the proclamation order, through Interpol, against the accused residing in Pakistan,” Nikam told the special court hearing terror cases.
Court Issues Proclamations Against Key Accused in 26/11 Attacks
The court overseeing the trial of the 26/11 attacks has issued proclamation orders for several absconding accused individuals. Those named include Pakistani nationals Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Sajid Mir, Abu Alqama, Asim alias Abu Qahafa, and Major Abdur Rehman Pasha.
Ajmal Kasab, the only Pakistani terrorist captured alive during the attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, was convicted of mass murder and waging war against India. He was sentenced to death and executed at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune on November 21, 2012.
