Waghmare may quit as Kasab’s defense lawyer

Mumbai: A day after being appointed as 26/11 accused Ajmal Kasab's defense lawyer, Anjali Waghmare is in the eye of storm. In a dramatic development overnight, Anjali Waghmare gave a signed letter to the Shiv Sena saying she would withdraw from the case.

This after a crowd protested outside her house. The angry crowd included Siv Sena workers and residents of the Worli police colony, where Waghmare stays with her husband. Nine Shiv Sainkis have been arrested.

Shiv Sena's Mumbai South division head Ajay Chaudhary is "wanted" by the police, said an official at the Worli police station.

Chaudhary had led a mob of over 500 Sena activists to Waghmare's Worli residence late Monday night and raised slogans demanding that she not take up Kasab's case. Waghmare, the wife of a policeman, lives inside a well-guarded complex of flats and the demonstrators could not get in.

But following the vociferous protests that continued till the early hours of Tuesday, Waghmare gave a letter to Chaudhary, expressing regret for having consented to represent Kasab and promised not to take up the legal assignment.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home minister says Waghmare has agreed to fight the case after the state promised her protection. She doesn't want the state to take action against the protestors as many of them are her neighbors.