25-year-old homemaker identifies Kasab

Mumbai, Jun 11 (PTI) Emotional scenes were witnessed
on Thursday at a special court conducting the trial in
November 26 terror strikes when a woman, who was injured at
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, broke down recalling her
six-year-old daughter died in her lap after being shot at by
terrorists.

"Meri beti Afreen mere godh mein tadap rahi thi, khoon
beh raha tha. Phir usne dum toda aur mein behosh ho gayi (My
daughter Afreen was writhing in pain on my lap. She was
bleeding and then died. I lost consciousness)," Nafeesa
Qureshi, a 25-year-old homemaker from suburban Bandra, said.

Asked if she could identify the gunmen, she pointed to
arrested terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab and said, "He was one
of them."

However, there was no reaction from Kasab.

Qureshi and two others, a Home Guard and a RPF head
constable, who were eyewitnesses to the terror strike at CST,
deposed before the court on Thursday and identified Kasab as
being among the duo that were shooting on the night of
November 26.

Yesterday, four other eyewitnesses identified Kasab as
being involved in the attack on CST which claimed 52 lives and
injured over 90.

Qureshi said she was travelling to Aurangabad with her
husband and daughter on November 26 and due to a delay in the
the train schedule they were sitting in the waiting hall.

Her husband had gone out to bring eatables while she
waited with her daughter, Qureshi said.

"Suddenly at 2130 hours, I heard a loud explosion. I
saw two persons firing in all directions," Nafeesa said.

"My daughter was hit on the back by bullets while I
sustained bullet injuries on the left leg. The next moment my
daughter died and I fell unconscious," she said, adding she
regained consciousness three days later at a hospital.

During cross-examination when defence lawyer Abbas
Kazmi asked her details about the terror strike, Qureshi said
"Sahab ek baat suno. Meri aulaad chali gayi, uska kya? (Sir I
have one thing to say. My child died what about that?)"

Kazmi opposed the presence of Qureshi's husband in the
court saying it would prejudice her.

However, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said
the witness' reaction was natural and unintentional and it was
unnecessary for her husband to leave the court.

When asked by Kazmi if she identified Kasab due to
police pressure, Qureshi said, "main jhoot kyon bolungi? Agar
aapki beti mari hoti toh aap aise hi poochte? Meri beti gayi
hai, main jhoot kyon bolun? (Why should I lie? If your
daughter had died, would you have asked such questions? Why
should I lie?)"

RPF head constable Jhillu Yadav said he was posted
outside the Central Railways General Manager's office on the
night of the incident when he heard sounds of firing and saw
people rushing out of the terminus.

On hearing two terrorists were shooting in the
terminus, he ran from a passage into the waiting hall and saw
one person, later identified as slain gunman Abu Ismail,
sitting on the ground loading his rifle, Yadav said.

"There was a police booth nearby and I saw a policeman
with a rifle. I told him to fire at the person," Yadav said.

"When he did not, I snatched his rifle and tried to
fire at the person holding the gun but could not since the
rifle had jammed," he said.

"At that time, another gunman came to accompany the
person loading the rifle and they fired at me but I took
shelter behind a pillar and was unhurt", Yadav said, adding
that in retaliation he threw a chair at them.

After firing at him, they went towards the suburban
rail section of the terminus, Yadav said.

When asked by the court, the head constable identified
Kasab as the individual who joined Ismail.OANA_NEWS;

The third eyewitness Home Guard Dhananjay Haribhau
Gawli also said he had seen Kasab at the time of the attack.

"I was helping people escape when the terrorists came
towards me and I hid in the public toilet at CST," he said.

When asked by the court if he was scared, Gawli said
"not me. Look at him (Kasab), he is scared."

All the three eyewitnesses also identified Abu Ismail
as the second gunman at CST when shown a photograph on a fake
college identity card recovered from him. PTI SVS
SRU
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