The court-appointed lawyer for man accused of being the lone surviving gunman of the Mumbai attacks was on Wednesday dismissed due to a conflict of interest, the judge ruled at the start of the trial on Wednesday. Anjali Waghmare, who had been appointed as state legal aid last month, was found unsuitable to represent Mohammed Ajmal Kasab because she had earlier accepted a brief from a witness related to the November attacks, judge M.L. Tahilyani said. “There can't be any other option but to revoke the order of Anjali Waghmare's appointment as an advocate for the accused,” he said at a specially built court housed at the city's Arthur Road jail, where Kasab is being held. An associate of Waghmare will handle the case till the court appoints another lawyer, Tahilyani said. Police say Kasab, who now sports a beard, his hair falling in a mop on his forehead, was one of 10 gunmen who landed in Mumbai by boat and rampaged through landmarks including five star hotels, the main train station and a Jewish centre. Legal representation for Kasab, who is charged with “waging war” against India during the attacks that killed nearly 170, has been a contentious issue, with several lawyers refusing and others being threatened by Hindu nationalist outfits. Kasab could face the gallows if found guilty. Kasab seeks a Pakistani lawyer Kasab asked an Indian court on Wednesday to provide him with a Pakistani defense lawyer, a request denied by the trial judge. Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani national, made the request after the judge sacked his state-appointed lawyer because of a conflict of interest. In a brief afternoon hearing before the high-profile trial was adjourned until Thursday, judge M.L. Tahaliyani said “Pakistan can assist you to find you a lawyer, but he would have to be from here,” the judge said in response to Kasab's request, adding that the Indian government would communicate to Pakistan the appeal for legal aid. “We need to give a just and fair trial to Kasab, and it is necessary to appoint a lawyer who can handle a case of this nature properly and with due diligence,” the judge told the court. The dismissal of Kasab's defence lawyer threw the trial into disarray moments after it opened in Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital.
