1 Dec : Pakistani Merchant Vessel MV Al Husseni was used by the 10 Laskar-e-Taiba terrorists before they shifted to an Indian fishing boat to reach Mumbai, suggest investigators probing the terror carnage.
During interrogation, Ajmal Amin Kamal, a militant arrested during the siege, said that they had boarded Al Husseni docked at a distance from Karachi port and were to be dropped near Mumbai waters, official sources said.Kamal, who hails from a poor family of Multan, Punjab, was caught on close circuit television as he and his associates went on a rampage on Wednesday night.
He told the investigators that they made a last minute decision to shift to the Indian shipping vessel to avoid detection by Indian Navy and Coastguard.The Lashker terrorist said his other team members caught hold of five men on MV Kuber and then killed four of them while keeping one — Amarsinh — alive to drive the launch vehicle to Cuffe Parade port in Mumbai.
"Char halal ho gaye jenab (four have been killed)," was the message relayed by one of the Lashker terrorists to his masters across the border.The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) had intercepted this message but could not make out anything of it except for reissuing the warning to Coast Guard to increase vigil, the sources claimed.
After the Mumbai attacks, the location of the call was found to be in the area where Al Husseni was sailing, the sources said.Earlier, Kamal had said that they had sailed on a Vietnamese merchant vessel from Karachi.
While some reports suggested that the number of terrorists was 12 or more than that, Kamal, whose name was being also referred as Kasab and Kasav, told interrogators that they were only 10 men and denied that there was any local link.
While central security agencies were claiming that there was no role of any local group behind the attack, Mumbai Police was looking for a Colaba-based businessman, who allegedly runs a diesel smuggling racket for underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who has been designated as Global Terrorist by the US.
Senior officials investigating the case also denied that Kamal had said that they had other plans, besides attacking the Oberoi, Taj Mahal and Nariman House.
The militants were instructed to go on a killing spree as a result of which they had even tried to enter a prominent media house located opposite to CST terminus, the sources said.
The Coast Guard captured the Indian trawler MV Kuber and found a Global Positioning System abandoned on it while it was drifting nearly four nautical miles off the coast of Mumbai early on Thursday morning, several hours after the terrorist attacks began.
Investigators were going through the call data details downloaded from the satellite phone also recovered from the abandoned trawler.Many of the call details have revealed numbers that have been traced back to the Laskar’s chief of operations, Muzamil.
The terrorists had been in constant touch with their masters across the border and some of their communications have also been intercepted by both the army as well as elite National Security Guards.
Only 10 militants had entered Mumbai on Wed night: Police
Ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists had slipped into Mumbai on Wednesday night to carry out attacks but the police were looking out for some local people including a henchman of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim who could have provided logistics.
The number of militants who entered the city through the sea was 10 and "they are all accounted for," said Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police (Crime Branch) Rakesh Maria.
He, however, said that they were probing possible local support being extended by some people in the metropolis and "everything would be clear only after investigations".
While nine terrorists had been shot at three locations — Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels and Nariman House — one Ajmal Amin Kamal was arrested from Chowpatty after a shootout.
Sources, involved in the investigations, said that more blankets had been found in a fishing motor boat that belonged to the fishermen who had been killed by the Lashkar militants in the high seas while entering Indian waters.
Kamal, whose name was being also referred as Kasab and Kasav, told interrogators that they were only 10 men and denied any local link, the sources said.
A massive manhunt had been launched to nab a Colaba-based businessman, an alleged henchman of Dawood Ibrahim, who has been designated as Global Terrorist by the US and is suspected to be having links with the al-Qaeda.
He looks after some customs clearing mechanism and also indulges in diesel smuggling for the underworld don, the sources said.
The underworld don’s men had also provided a complete picture of the terror targets– the two hotels and the Chhabad House, which houses the Israelis, the sources said.