Kasab never asked for biryani: Why public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam made the story up

In a global conference on counter terrorism in Jaipur, the special public prosecutor in 26/11 Mumbai terror case, Ujjwal Nikam has disclosed that he made up the anecdote that Ajmal Kasab demanded for Mutton Biryani while in jail. [caption id=“attachment_1566441” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ajmal Kasab. Courtesy: IBN LIVE[/caption] According to this report by the Economic Times, Nikam told reporters at the conference, “Kasab never demanded biryani and was never served by the government. I concocted it just to break an emotional atmosphere which was taking shape in favour of Kasab during the trial of the case.” Nikam recalled that this “emotional wave” begun at a trial when Kasab bent his head and wipes his eyes.  “Soon, electronic media broke the news: ’tears in Kasab’s eyes’. It was Raksha Bandhan that day, and some speculated that Kasab got emotional in memory of his sister. Some even went on to question whether he was a terrorist or not,” Nikam said, in this TOI report. The mutton biryani myth was a result of the humanisation of Kasab, something Nikam disapproved of. Soon after it was revealed that Kasab asked for the biryani, there was immense pressure on the authorities for a quick trial. “Why feed them biryani” became a catch phrase. Senior lawyer Rohini Salian, who was public prosecutor in prominent trials including the Ghatkopar and Mulund bomb blasts case, did not agree with Nikam’s decision. In this Indian Express report she states, “We are representatives of the public as well as the society. As an officer of the court, I have no right to come to a conclusion. It is my duty to present the truth to the court and then leave it to the court to take a decision. As prosecutors, we can’t be biased. We must present the case independently and without hatred for anyone.”