Terror in the Courtroom

Lawyers of terror accused scram for cover after the killing of Shahid Azmi, who was defending a 26/11 suspect.

Criminal lawyers in Mumbai defending clients accused of terrorism are a terrified lot following the killing of Shahid Azmi, advocate for Faheem Ansari, an accused in the 26/11 attacks case. Azmi, who was also appearing for those arrested in the Malegaon and Mumbai suburban railway bomb blasts, was shot dead at point blank range on 11 February at his office in suburban Mumbai. The police say the hit was organised by Bharat Nepali, a gangster from the Chhota Rajan gang.

Sources among lawyers say the Hindu-Muslim divide in the underworld is spilling over to them. “Muslim lawyers are on Chhota Rajan’s hitlist and vice versa with Muslim dons,” says a lawyer. Abbas Kazmi, former lawyer for 26/11 prime accused Ajmal Kasab, feels like a sitting duck for gangsters. “My security was abruptly withdrawn by the government a day before Azmi’s killing. I can’t afford private security. I have been receiving blank calls. I had also received threats when I was Kasab’s lawyer,” he says.

Ashok Saraogi, lawyer of jailed gangster Abu Salem, says he is scared that his phones are being tapped. He has employed round-the-clock private security guards. “At the moment, I am not taking on new clients. Criminal lawyers have nothing personal with gangsters. They are merely clients, but rival gangsters do not understand it. They are terrorising lawyers,” says Saraogi.

Even the media-savvy Ijaz Naqvi, the other lawyer representing Faheem Ansari and another 26/11 accused Sabauddin, refuses to talk or be photographed now. This is not the first instance of a noted lawyer being attacked. In 2005, Majeed Memon, who had represented the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts accused, had been shot outside his house by henchmen of gangster Ravi Pujari. He escaped unhurt. After Azmi’s killing, some lawyers are now reported to be scared of getting bail for underworld clients.

26/11 attacksAbbas KazmiAjmal Kasab