An Indian prosecutor pressing charges against the sole surviving gunman of last year's militant attacks on Mumbai that left 166 dead said Sunday the trial could end within a week. Mohammed Ajmal Kasab is charged with being one of 10 Islamist gunmen who stormed Mumbai last November.
"Only 35 (of 331) witnesses remain to be examined either personally or through their affidavits," special state prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the Press Trust of India news agency. "The trial is expected to end within a week."
Kasab, who faces 86 charges, told the court in July that he was ready to accept the death penalty. Nikam's statement came less than a week after trial judge M.L. Tahaliyani sacked Kasab's state-appointed lawyer, Abbas Kazmi, accusing him of wasting time and failing to co-operate with the court. The defence lawyer had argued for days over a technicality relating to the filing of affidavits and recording of evidence.