Will not handover Kasav to Pak: Jayant Patil

Mumbai, Feb 15: Maharashtra Home Ministry on Sunday, Feb 15 said that they will not hand over Azam Amir Kasav aka Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman, to Pakistan soon. This confirmation came a day after the neighbouring country said that it may seek the custody of the lone terrorist caught alive in connection with 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes.

State Home Minister Jayant Patil said that Kasav will be tried in India first. "We may hand him over to Pakistan on completion of the sentence," he said. On the other hand the minister urged Pakistan to handover the masterminds of the Mumbai attacks to police for further probe. He opined that the Mumbai police could write to Pak through the Centre, seeking the permission.

On Saturday, Feb 14, the Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik in a statement released said that Pak may seek Kasav's custody, if investigators recommend it or the courts ask for him. "If investigators recommend it and the court asked for him, then definitely we will do that. It's premature but when the name of a person appears in a (police complaint), he is needed in the case ... We will do it when our investigators think he is needed here," Malik said.

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)