Kasab's security cost: Maharashtra refuses to pay ITBP

Maharashtra government has refused to foot the Rs.19.28 crore bill sent by Indo-Tibetan Border Police towards reimbursing expenses for guarding 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab lodged in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai and wants the Centre to waive the amount.

Home Minister R R Patil said on Wednesday that the state government has requested the Centre to waive the Rs 19.28 crore bill sent to it by the central paramilitary force.

"What Kasab and his associates did is an attack not only on Mumbai but an attack on India and it is unfair to ask the state government alone to bear the burden," Patil told the legislative council.

He was replying to a query raised by Shiv Sena member Ramdas Kadam during a discussion on calling attention motion.

The Home Minister said the state government has been making payments towards food and medical care of Kasab, besides the salaries of the state policemen guarding him.

 "Rs 5.25 crore was spent on the foolproof jail structure where the Pakistani terrorist is lodged. Apart from it, the government has spent Rs 34,975 on food, Rs 28,066 on medical facility, Rs 1.22 crore on the salary disbursed to the policemen guarding the jail where Kasab is kept," Patil said.

The ITPB was deployed in the jail in the run-up to the 26/11 trial, held in a special sessions court set up in the jail premises.

In 2010, the home department sought an extension for the deployment of the ITBP which comprised around 200 commandos, armed with sophisticated weaponry and communication equipment, for guarding 24x7 the lone surviving Pakistani gunman in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.