INDIA`S PUBLIC ENEMY NO 1 IS ITS MOST EXPENSIVE PRISONER

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- India's Public Enemy Number One is
ironically, its most expensive prisoner to boot.

To feed and protect Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab who was
linked to the senseless massacre of over 170 people in Mumbai -- exactly a year
ago -- the Indian Government spends a staggering RM62,000 daily.

The attack was described as one of the worst terror attacks on Indian soil.

Mohammad Ajmal, 21, was one of 10 gunmen who went on the bloody rampage
which also saw a Malaysian woman, in her 40s, killed and over 300 people
injured.

The Times of India reported that the Indian Government had spent nearly RM22
million over the past one year and approximately RM62,000 was spent daily to
protect and feed the terrorist in the high-security prison in Mumbai.

The expenditure, quoted by the newspaper, though not official figures,
also included building two high-security, bomb-proof cells, at the Arthur Road
jail, another in JJ Hospital.

The costs also include the purchase of weapons and vehicles for emergencies
to protect the prisoner.

Indian authorities are safeguarding the prisoner, around-the-clock, as he is
the most vital evidence to bring to justice, the perpetrators of the Mumbai
carnage.

According to the Times newspaper, Mohammad Ajmal's trial would drag on for
another two to three months.

In last year's attack, gunmen opened fire in more than 10 public places in
India's financial capital, including the Taj Mahal Palace hotel and another
major hotel, on the ill-fated evening.

The gunmen captured the Taj hotel where many of the victims, including the
Malaysian woman, were staying, for almost three days' until Indian security
forces purged the attackers in a fierce gunbattle to free the hostages.

-- BERNAMA