A thick security blanket has been thrown in and around a special court where the trial of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, and two other accused is likely to begin today.
As many as 500 police personnel were deployed on the road leading to the special court set up inside Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai. One side of the road was closed to traffic. Security personnel in plainclothes were seen moving around the court.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel, who are also guarding Kasab in the jail, patrolled around the area near the court premises.
Media persons were checked multiple times prior to entering the court and were not allowed to carry anything on their person, including notepads and pens.
A separate enclosure has been created for media vehicles some distance away from the court. No vehicle parking was allowed anywhere around the court.
A special vehicle obtained by the Mumbai Police to scan for explosives has also been pressed into service around the court.
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Police personnel, on duty since 6 am, were seen sending away curious onlookers and pedestrians who stopped by to see the security convoys of special judge M L Tahilyani and public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam entering the court.
Police have issued passes for media persons, guards and lawyers for their entry into the court.
Special security arrangement has also been made inside the court. A bomb-proof passage has been created to transport Kasab from his prison cell to the special court.
Besides Kasab, two other arrested accused in the terror attack case, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, are facing trial.
Kasab would appear in person for the first time before the court. Earlier, he had appeared in the court through video conference.
The special court is also expected to decide on an application challenging the appointment of advocate Anjali Waghmare to represent Kasab in the case. The application has been filed by an advocate, K N Lam.
Waghmare, appointed by the court to defend Kasab, is mired in a controversy which seems to put her in a tight spot in the wake of allegations that she had first accepted brief of a witness in this case before deciding to defend the Pakistani national.