26/11: Court to decide if Kasab's a minor

Mumbai: A special court set up at Mumbai's Arthur Road jail will decide whether 26/11 attacker Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab is a juvenile or not.

The court had ordered an investigation to determine Kasab's true age on April 24 after the defence lawyer claimed that Kasab was just 17 years old at the time of the 26/11 attack, and should therefore be tried in a juvenile court.

Special Judge ML Tahiliyani had asked for a report on Kasab's age by April 28.

Kasab's lawyer had offered to travel to Pakistan to verify his age. But the court asked a team of doctors to do the investigation through medical tests.

Kasab underwent ossification tests to determine his age in the jail. The scientific tests will determine whether Kasab was a minor on the day of the 26/11 attacks or not.

Several medical tests have been conducted by radiologists, doctors and forensic dentists within the premises of the fortified Arthur Road jail where Kasab is lodged.

The tests include ossification tests which is an approximate way to find the age of a person by ascertaining the physical growth of his or her bones.

Examinations of Kasab's dental growth and structure were also undertaken by forensic dentists while a medical examination by doctors, too, was carried out.

The prosecution also examined three witnesses including the jail superintendent, and the doctor at Nair Hospital who treated an injured Kasab immediately after he was arrested.

The defence does not have any proof of Kasab being minor. While the prosecution has been claiming he was over 20 years old when the attacks took place, Kasab has said that he was less than 17 years on the day of the Mumbai terror attack.

The age of Kasab may have a direct bearing on the verdict.

"If he is a minor then the case will be shifted to a juvenile court and according to the Juvenile Justice Act the maximum punishment meted out will be three years," defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi said.

Investigators have claimed that Kasab revealed his birthday as September 13, 1987, on more than one occasion.

But if it is established that Kasab was indeed a minor at the time of attack, the maximum sentence the terrorist would face is just three years in jail.