Trial of Mumbai suspect adjourned

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab opened fire on commuters, it is alleged

The trial of the main suspect in last November's deadly attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) has been adjourned until Wednesday.

A court in the city was due to decide whether to accept the guilty plea made by Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab.

On Monday, he made a surprise confession before the court admitting his role in the killings.

The case was adjourned after prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said he needed more time to study the confession.

Mr Qasab, who is a Pakistani, faces 86 charges, including waging war on India, murder and possessing explosives.

In May, he had pleaded not guilty to all charges. More than 170 people died in the attacks, nine of them gunmen.

The case was adjourned on prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam's request.

"I need more time to prepare a reply as I received the copy of the confession only at night," he said.

Mr Nikam said he wanted to provide a detailed response to different points made in the confession.

Confession extended

The BBC's Prachi Pinglay, who was in court on Tuesday, reports that Mr Qasab told the judge he wanted to send a message to "those who sent me here".

MAIN QASAB CHARGES Waging war on India Murder Conspiracy to murder Destabilising the government Kidnap Robbery Smuggling and possessing illegal arms and explosives Media see early end to trial Profile: Mumbai suspect Attackers' bodies still unclaimed

Judge ML Tahiliyani said: "You can only say what pertains to this case."

The defendant then said he wanted to add to his confession.

"At Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai's historic railway station), we were told to take hostages and take them to the upper storey. We were told to fight the police when they came to rescue them," he said.

On Monday, Mr Qasab said he had confessed because Pakistan had finally admitted he was a Pakistani citizen.

The judge asked him how he found out that Pakistan had accepted his nationality since he had no access to television or newspapers?

"The guards in the jail told me," Mr Qasab said.

The court was to decide on Tuesday whether the confession was made voluntarily and whether there were any loopholes in his statement.

While adjourning the hearing, Judge Tahiliyani explained what options were open to him.

"There are three possibilities - the plea can be accepted, or it can be rejected. The third is, the plea can be taken on record and the trial will continue," he said.

"I cannot decide right now. I will decided after hearing the prosecution and the defence," the judge concluded.

Legal experts have said that if the judge does finally accept his testimony in court, then the trial will end soon and the court will pronounce the sentence.

Mr Qasab could face the death penalty if the judge agrees to impose the maximum penalty.

'No pressure'

On Monday, Mr Qasab said there had been no pressure on him to confess and it had been his decision to do so.

"I request the court to accept my plea and pronounce the sentence," he told the judge.

During his testimony, the suspect gave details of his journey from Pakistan, the attacks at a historic railway station in Mumbai and the city's Cama hospital.

Police say Mr Qasab confessed before a magistrate to the attacks after his arrest, but he retracted that confession at an early hearing.

His lawyers said then that it had been coerced.

Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, 21, was arrested on the first day of the attacks and has been in Indian custody ever since.

The attacks led to a worsening of relationship between India and Pakistan.

India accused Pakistan-based fighters from the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of carrying out the attacks.

In the immediate aftermath of the killings, Pakistan denied any responsibility, but later admitted the attacks had been partly planned on its soil.

Islamabad also eventually admitted that Mr Qasab was a Pakistani citizen.