The trial of a Pakistani accused of being in a 10-man team of gunmen who killed 166 people during a rampage through Mumbai in 2008 closed yesterday after a year of dramatic courtroom testimony.
The judge will deliver a verdict on May 3 on 22-year-old Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, considered the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 attacks, which traumatised India and led to a spike in tension with Pakistan.
The prosecution has called for him to be put to death and has presented evidence it considers overwhelmingly proves his guilt, including a photo of him carrying an AK-47 machine gun through the main train terminal in Mumbai.
Kasab stands accused on scores of charges, including waging war against India and murder over the three days of carnage, which targeted luxury hotels, a tourist restaurant, the railway station and a Jewish centre.
"The trial has ended and the prosecution has presented the links between Kasab, LeT (militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba) and the Pakistani army," state prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told reporters outside court.
During his final arguments, state prosecutor Nikam had called Kasab a "conniving, depraved murderer" who was trained by the Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Kasab initially pleaded not guilty when the trial started in April, but in July made a shock confession, admitting being one of two gunmen who opened fire at the train station.
He also detailed how the group was trained by the banned LeT, and he then asked for swift justice.