|
Tried to strangulate himself in his lock-up, using the bandages meant to heal his wounds
MOHD Ajmal Qasab (21) is bruised and fractured and bandaged all over. A result of the severe thrashing received from irate locals who had laid their hands on him when the Skoda he and his fellow terrorist had hijacked, was intercepted by cops near Girgaum Chowpatty.
It's the bandages that are helping him heal, giving cops a chance to interrogate him. The same bandages are giving the police the creeps. Twice, since the time he was brought to the Crime Branch lock-up, Qasab has tried to kill himself.
Attempting to strangulate himself with the cloth bandages on his fractured shoulder. A day-night vigil is maintained even inside his room, which is what averted the near disaster for the cops, who could have lost their only living proof of the terror conspiracy. "Please kill me," he keeps screaming in Hindi and Urdu, to the cops on duty, who are now used to these wails from the prized prisoner.
Qasab is kept inside one of the lock-ups of the Crime Branch, which has been converted into a veritable fortress. Due to security reasons, MiD DAY cannot reveal where Qasab has been kept, or the number of policemen watching over him.
There are plain-clothes cops inside and outside the room. Only a handful are allowed within a hundred metres of the area. Just three officers are allowed into the fortress the same ones every day.
Dressed only in bandages, Qasab is given a change of underwear every two days. "Even when he has to go to the loo, he is accompanied by one of the officers on duty, and his hands are secured behind him. There is no door to the loo, just in case he tries to lock himself in," sources confirmed.
His movement is not known to even the outer ring of security surrounding Qasab's lock-up. "He is covered with a black cloth like any usual criminal and we never know when he arrives or is taken out. We are curious, like any other individual, but we dare not ask because the case is really very sensitive," a Crime Branch cop told MiD DAY.
"It is only a while after he is back in the room that we are told that Ajmal Qasab is back," he said. Incidentally, Qasab was initially in the lock-up at N M Joshi Marg police station. The police station and lock-up is in the heart of old Mumbai's residential area. "Why did you get him here, we do not want him here," locals who had got a whiff of the deadly visitor, had screamed at the cops.
Medical treatment
Even doctors are not allowed near Qasab. Every two days, he has to be administered medicines for his wounds, sources revealed. "The cops have been trained to administer the injections. Each medicine box is tested before being administered," cops confirmed.
Food for Qasab Breakfast: Normal tea with vada or poha Lunch: Two chapatis, rice, dal and a vegetable, papad, onion and salt Tea: Normal milk tea, and some snacks like vada pav Dinner: Same as lunch
Absurd versions about Qasab He had asked to watch Amitabh Bachchan movies He is being served non-veg food sometimes He was being served lemon tea "For the past few days, the media has been writing about the food we give him. Some have said that he is served non-veg food. All that is rubbish. He is treated like any other accused and is given veg food," said Addl Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti. |