Mumbai Attack Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

Prosecutors told the court that Mohammed Ajmal Kasab was one of 10 attackers responsible for killing 166 people and wounding 234 more during the three-day siege of India's financial capital last November. Nine other suspected gunmen were killed during the attacks.

Presiding Judge M.L. Tahiliyani read out all the charges against Kasab in a Mumbai courtroom. Kasab responded with a plea of not guilty and said, "I don't accept these charges."

He also told the court: "It's all wrong. I'm not guilty."

Kasab faces the death penalty if convicted.

Police say he was one of 10 gunmen who landed in Mumbai by boat from Pakistan and rampaged through several of the city's landmarks including the main train station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish center.

Tahilyani explained the charges to Kasab in Hindi and asked him if he understood, the public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said, according to Reuters.

Kasab also told the court that he was 21 years old, prompting laughter in the courtroom because of the defense's recent attempts to prove that he was a minor, which would have meant lighter penalties if convicted in juvenile court.

The judge had earlier ordered medical and dental tests to confirm his age.

Kasab also said that he was a laborer from the town of Faridkot in Pakistan's Punjab province.

The BBC reported that Kasab was dressed in a striped shirt and appeared relaxed, at times smiling.

The prosecution will now begin to present evidence and witnesses in each of the cases against the accused, Nikam said. The prosecution has said it has more than 1,800 witnesses and more than 750 pieces of evidence.

In an earlier hearing, Kasab retracted a confession, saying it was coerced. It will be up to the judge to weigh the evidence at the trial and decide whether the confession should be taken into account.

Charges were also laid on Wednesday against Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed, two Indians accused of being members of the Pakistan-based Muslim militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and of conducting reconnaissance of the Mumbai landmarks before the attack. They also pleaded not guilty to a string of charges that included murder and waging war against India. They also face the death penalty.

India has charged 38 people in all in connection with the attack. Most of them live in Pakistan, the government has said.

Prosecutors say the attacks were masterminded by Lashkar-e-Taiba, and say investigations are ongoing to determine the scope of Pakistani involvement in the attack.

The attacks raised tensions between India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed rivals who have fought three wars against each other since gaining independence in 1947.