Kasab shocked to hear about Jundal's arrest

Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani perpetrator of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, received the news of arrest of his Hindi teacher and LeT operative Abu Jundal with shock.

"When was Jundal nabbed?... Was he alone? Was he accompanied by anybody when he was arrested?" Kasab, lodged in an bomb-proof cell in the Arthur Road Jail made several queries about Jundal after the news was broken to him, prison sources said today.

Kasab, who does not have access to newspapers, also made persistent queries about whether he would be brought to Mumbai and kept in the same jail. Kasab often tries to strike a conversation with the security personnel guarding him round-the-clock who normally do not respond but sometimes they do, they said.

A 43-month international hunt for Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal culminated in his arrest on June 21 after he landed at IGI airport following his deportation from Saudi Arabia. Jundal is currently in the custody of Special Cell of Delhi Police.

30-year-old Jundal is from Maharashtra's Beed district and is alleged to have issued directions to the 10 Pakistani perpetrators of the 26 November, 2008 attacks from a 'control room' in Karachi. One hundred and sixty-six people including foreigners were massacred during the 59-hour siege.

While Kasab was caught alive, his nine accomplices were killed by security agencies. Kasab had told the special court during the trial that a man named Abu Jundal had taught Hindi to the 10 attackers. Jundal was the only Indian among the handlers and his use of chaste Hindi words like 'prashasan' (administration) was a giveaway.