New Delhi - Indian police were expected to file charges Wednesday against the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai terrorist attack of November.

The charge sheet would be filed in the court of a metropolitan magistrate in Mumbai, public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam was quoted as saying by the IANS news agency.

Besides Ajmal Amir Kasab, 11 others - including Fahim Ansari and Salauddin Mohammed, the Pakistan-based leaders of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba - have been named in a mammoth charge sheet running more than 5,000 pages, the report said.

The charge sheet marks the end of the first stage of police investigations into the terrorist attack in which 10 gunmen attacked sites in India's financial capital and held hostages for three days.

More than 170 people were killed in the attack, which India said was plotted by elements in neighbouring Pakistan and launched from its territory.

Kasab was the only accused gunman caught during the attack. The other nine were killed, according to police.

He faces a range of charges from murder to waging war against the country and could face the death penalty if found guilty.

Kasab, who was arrested November 28, has been kept under heavy security cover in a Mumbai jail.

Under Indian law, charges have to be filed in a court within 90 days of a person's detention.

The metropolitan magistrate was expected to shift the case to a special court after the charges are filed, Nikam said. (dpa)