Mumbai judge issues gag order

MUMBAI, July 21 (UPI) -- The judge presiding over the trial of the lone surviving terrorist in the Mumbai attacks adjourned the case after issuing a gag order against journalists.

Judge M.L. Tahilyani's order barred journalist from reporting a message defendant Ajmal Kasab tried to send to the instigators of the November assault on India's financial and entertainment hub in which more than 160 people died, The New York Times reported.

The order applied to several sentences in a statement made by Kasab, the 21-year-old Pakistani who Monday changed his plea to guilty.

Asked Tuesday by Tahilyani whether he wished to make a statement, Kasab first described instructions he received concerning the Mumbai assault, then delivered a message to his handlers in Pakistan. When Kasab finished, Tahilyani barred the media from reporting on the message, saying coverage could heighten tensions between religious communities in India, the Times said.

The judge said he would address concerns raised Indian reporters in the courtroom who protested his ruling by saying Kasab didn't offer anything that hadn't already been reported.