Accused Mumbai attacker retracts confession

Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, accused of being the lone surviving member of the 10-man group which attacked several Mumbai landmarks, is seen at an undisclosed location under police custody in this undated video grab shown by CNN IBN Television channel since February 3, 2009.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The man accused of being the lone surviving gunman from last year's Mumbai attacks retracted his statement in court on Friday, saying he was forced by the police to sign a confessional statement.

Pakistani citizen Mohammad Ajmal Kasab had been charged with 86 separate offences including murder and waging war against India in the November attacks when militants killed 166 people in a shooting spree across the financial hub.

"He (Kasab) has told the court that he was arrested a few days ... before the attacks and kept in jail," public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told Reuters by telephone. Kasab is among 38 charged by India in the attacks. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty.

The attacks raised tensions between India and Pakistan. New Delhi says Islamabad has not done enough to bring the Pakistani-based masterminds of the attack to justice.

Nikam said the retraction would have no bearing as the prosecution has sufficient proof against Kasab.

"We have clinching evidence against him," Nikam said.

Kasab, 21, smiling while speaking inside a packed courtroom, said he never met Pakistani militant leaders who planned the attacks against India.

Kasab said he came to India 20 days before the attack with valid documents to work in Bollywood and was not involved in the shootings.

He also said that he met Chicago man David Headley, charged in the United States with helping plan the Mumbai attacks, in a Mumbai jail after his arrest.

But the judge stopped him from testifying further about Headley, saying it was not relevant to the case.

Headley, arrested two months ago, traveled to Mumbai five times between September 2006 and July 2008, taking pictures and video of some places hit in the attacks and the port where the attackers landed by boat, according to U.S. court documents.

The trial, which has gripped the country for months, has seen several twists and turns, with two defense attorneys also dismissed for unprofessional conduct.

Last week, a Pakistani court indicted seven Pakistani suspects in connection with the attacks.

(Additional reporting and writing by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Jerry Norton)