“Kasab refuses Jail Food, demands Mutton Briyani”
It was a headline that shocked and appalled us two years ago. Made us question why the Indian State was spending so much money to keep a ruthless terrorist alive.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam recently admitted that he ‘cooked up’ the story up to sway public sentiment which he felt was going soft on Kasab, especially over whether he was too young to face the death sentence.
Did Nikam need to lie to hang Kasab? And is the Indian Judiciary swayed by public sentiment? Ujjwal Nikam justifies his action claiming it did ‘speed up the trial’.
However, Nikam is allegedly, a ‘habitual’ liar.
Senior Lawyer Flavia Agnes runs an NGO ‘Majlis’ that that provides legal and social assistance to victims of abuse. Speaking to The Quint, she alleges Nikam lied to the media on at least two counts during the Shakti Mills Gangrape Trial.
1. At a point in the trial, Agnes says, Nikam emerged out of the in-camera proceedings to tell the media that the rape survivor fainted after the watching the mobile clip which the accused shot of her being raped. But this, Agnes alleges, was a lie. She says the rape survivor simply did not faint .
But Nikam’s statement was breaking news on news channels and among the top newspaper headlines the next day.
2. Flavia also told The Quint that Nikam ordered for a pair of slippers to be bought for the other Shakti Mills rape survivor - the telephone operator. And then, allegedly schooled her to throw the slippers at the accused in court.
Again, the ‘story’ hit headlines, keeping media and public interest alive in the gruesome gangrape.
Flavia says Nikam’s objective is to secure the death penalty in all of his cases. This, she says, is done by making an emotional rather than legal argument. And by manipulating public sentiment, with the aim that it would influence the judgement.
The Quint tried to speak to Ujjwal Nikam. But the biryani was perhaps, too hot to handle.
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