26/11 case: Mumbai Police seek Interpol's help to bring Hafiz Saeed, 5 others to trial

Mumbai Police have taken the first step towards prosecuting six Pakistani nationals, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks case by seeking the Interpol route, the special court hearing the case was informed on Friday.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court that the Mumbai Police had submitted an interim report regarding the proclamation orders issued against the accused in July this year. The six accused are Hafiz Saeed, LeT's operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Sajid Mir, Abu Alqama, Asim alias Abu Qahafa and Major Abdur Rehman Pasha.

Proclamation orders are issued by a court when an accused person cannot be served summons or fails to appear despite being summoned. Such orders require the accused to appear before the court within a specified period or face legal consequences, including being declared a proclaimed offender. The interim report filed by the police is understood to detail the efforts made so far to serve the orders, including through international channels.

Seeking the Interpol route means the Mumbai Police have approached the International Criminal Police Organization to facilitate the location and presence of the accused. This could involve issuing red corner notices against the six men, which would require member countries to assist in locating and provisionally arresting them pending extradition.

Hafiz Saeed, a designated terrorist by the United Nations Security Council, was the mastermind of the 26/11 attacks, according to India. The attacks, carried out by ten Pakistani gunmen in November 2008, killed 166 people and wounded over 300. Saeed has denied involvement and has never been tried in India. He was convicted in Pakistan on terror financing charges in 2022 and is currently serving a prison sentence there.

Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, another accused, is the operations commander of LeT and was the alleged field commander of the Mumbai attacks. Sajid Mir is accused of being the handler for the attackers, while Abu Alqama, Asim alias Abu Qahafa and Major Abdur Rehman Pasha are also alleged to have played key roles in planning and executing the attacks.

India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to hand over the accused, but Islamabad has maintained that it is dealing with the matter according to its own legal processes. There is no bilateral extradition treaty between the two countries, which has often complicated the process. The involvement of Interpol is seen as an attempt to bypass these hurdles by seeking international cooperation.

The special court, which was constituted to fast-track trials in terror cases, has been hearing the case since 2009. One of the ten attackers, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive by Indian security forces. He was convicted and executed in 2012. The remaining accused, however, remain in Pakistan and have not faced trial in India.

The Mumbai Police's decision to approach Interpol is a significant legal step. It remains to be seen whether the international agency will act on the request and whether the accused will ever be brought to justice in India. The court has scheduled further hearing after reviewing the interim report.