Kasab's ITBP guards to be moved out of Mumbai jail

The Indo-Tibetan Norder Police, which has incurred an expenditure of more than Rs 34 crore on the security of 26/11 attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab, will soon move out its men who guarded him in Arthur Road prison in Mumbai.

The central paramilitary force had deployed a special commando-trained contingent of 200 personnel in March 2009 after Kasab was brought to the prison complex.

According to the procedure, once the specified task given to a squad of a central force comes to an end, the Union Home ministry, in consultation with the state government, issues an order asking the force headquarters to 'deinduct' or call back the contingent.

"The squad designated to guard Kasab will be deinducted now," sources in the force said after the convict was hanged in Yerawada jail in Pune on Wednesday morning. ITBP, the sources said, has spent close to Rs 77 lakh per month to render this duty,

adding that the expenses incurred by the jail authorities and the Maharashtra police in keeping Kasab secure were not included in this amount. "The decision as to who will foot the bill for the force has not been communicated to the force as of now," they said.

The Central force was sent on the request of the state government to guard the terrorist. The ITBP squad was armed with the best weaponry like under barrel grenade launchers and high precision weapons and ammunition to ensure tight security in the jail complex where Kasab was lodged.

The ITBP, a border guarding force tasked to secure the Sino- Indian frontier, has been monitoring the security set up 24x7 since Kasab was lodged in the Mumbai jail, via its control room based in Mumbai.