Day after crash, Mumbai's 'Kasab bridge' razed

A day after a portion of the footbridge outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) crashed killing six persons and injuring 32 others, the civic authorities on Friday ordered demolition of the remaining structure.

A team of workers clambered up and started breaking the bridge apart. The work is expected to be completed later tonight.

Often referred to as the 'Kasab bridge', the footbridge connects the suburban and harbour line platforms of Central Railway with a narrow BT Lane exiting to the historic Azad Maidan.

This was the bridge the Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab and his fidayeen partner Ismail Khan climbed to go to the Madam Cama & Albless Hospital after killing 58 people in the CSMT on the night of November 26, 2008.

After killing five persons in the vicinity of the hospital, Kasab and Khan hijacked a vehicle and proceeded towards the VVIP Malabar Hill area for further attacks.

Their victims at the hospital complex included some of the finest police officers of the city, including then ATS chief Hemant Karkare.

On November 27, the Kasab-Khan duo was stopped by a police team at Girgaum Chowpatty. In the ensuing gunbattle, Khan and several policemen were killed but Kasab was caught alive.

He was tried and sentenced to death. Kasab was hanged secretly in Pune's Yerawada Central Jail on November 21, 2012 at sunrise.

After 11 years, the so-called 'Kasab bridge' also bit the dust as the workmen were in the final stages of demolishing it.

--IANS

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