The Foreign Hand

What is the latest in the investigations taking place in the Mumbai terror plot? A report from Ground Zero by RANA AYYUB

INVESTIGATIONS INTO the November 26 Mumbai attacks continue to reveal new facets. In his confession, captured terrorist Kasav has stated that not just he but the other nine terrorists killed are Pakistani nationals, a fact confirmed by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, members of which interrogated Kasav, Crime Branch sources say. Kasav has also named his trainers, all members of the Lashkar-e- Tayyeba (LeT) front, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, including its head, Hafiz Sayeed.

Right from Kasav’s statement to the material recovered from the trawler, Kuber, which the terrorists hijacked on their way to Mumbai, there has been enough evidence of the involvement of Pakistan-based extremist organisations and their leaders in the attack. Pakistan, however, claims that it has not been provided such proof, thereby giving it grounds to take no specific action against terror outfits on its soil. Finally, though, international pressure appears to have compelled President Asif Ali Zardari to say, in an interview to Newsweek, that non-state actors were indeed his responsibility. Although he categorically denied that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was involved in the attack or with the LeT, he did say that nobody would be allowed to use Pakistani soil for any kind of aggression on a friend.

Contrary to Zardari’s assertions, however, sources investigating the attacks have told TEHELKA that there is enough evidence to suggest a key ISI role — among the trainers Kasav has named, several were apparently part of the ISI or armymen. When asked whether or not these armymen were presently in service, the officials declined to comment.

Another significant clue pointing to Pakistani involvement are the grenades recovered from the attack sites, which Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria says are of the same make as those used in the city’s 1993 serial blasts. The grenades were manufactured by the Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF), under license for the Pakistan Army and are all marked ‘Arges’, in bold letters, followed by ‘Spl HG 64’ and the serial number. The brand belongs to the Austriabased Rheinmetall Waffe Munition Arges, a subsidiary of Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH, a German weaponsmanufacturing company. Additional CP (Crime) Deven Bharati says Rheinmettall has assured investigators complete cooperation. However, when contacted by TEHELKA, officials of Rheinmetall Waffe refused to comment.

While the assistance the terrorists must have received has not been made clear, a state minister who is looking into the matter has said that information had it that another set of LeT operatives used the same route as the terrorists thrice in two months as a recce for the main operation. If this turns out to be true, it would suggest not just serious security and intelligence lapses, but also what is, at best a oversight and, at worst, the connivance of a section of Pakistani officials, as the Pakistan Navy did not manage to intercept any of the terrorists either.

The Crime Branch is also hoping to elicit crucial information from LeT operatives Faheem Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed, held for attacking a CRPF camp. The Mumbai Police claims the operatives had scouted the targets of the attack and provided information on them to their heads in Pakistan. Ansari’s family has denied these claims. His elder brother, Abu Bakr Ansari, and sister, Farhana Ansari, who visited him just a day before the attack, say that the Special Task Force (STF) officials were themselves convinced that he was not involved in any terrorrelated activity. “When we went there,” Abu Bakr Ansari told TEHELKA, “the STF officials asked us to file an application for his bail. If he were a terrorist, would they have suggested this?”

Faheem Ansari’s interrogation report states that he was working under orders from LeT operatives Zaki ur Rehman, Muzammil, Kahafa, Abu Talha and others. It also states that he had confessed to holding Osama Bin Laden as a hero and was known to his neighbours as having jehadi inclinations. The neighbours, however, deny this claim. Ansari’s family has also refuted the police claim that he disappeared from his work place in Dubai to join the LeT. According to his brother, Ansari injured someone during a fight at his workplace and fled fearing the consequences.

While there are contradictions between the family’s version of events and Ansari’s interrogation reports, there also seems to be a contradiction in the investigating agencies’ version of the 26/11 plot. After the attack, Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officials told TEHELKA that several local terror outfits, such as the Indian Muja hideen, had been involved and had provided logistical support to the terrorists. Crime Branch officials, however, place responsibility on foreign organisations alone. The interdeparmental strain became clear in a senior ATS official’s remark to TEHELKA, on condition of anonymity, that most of the Crime Branch’s statements have been given out without verification.

Meanwhile, Kasav — who has appeared before a magistrate and is facing a string of accusations including waging war against the country, murder, attempted murder and other charges under the Arms and Explosives Act — will have a difficult time finding legal help with Maharashtra bar associations passing a referendum against allowing him any representation. The Bar Council of India has termed this move illegal. Ex-IPS officer and law expert YP Singh says under the Constitution, every accused is entitled to a fair trial under the CrPC. “By not allowing Kasav a lawyer, they will only help his case and he will have the last laugh. As it is, he has to go to the gallows as there is enough evidence against him. Why give him a chance to appeal later and keep delaying the case,” says Singh. While lawyers Ashok Sarogi and Mahesh Deshmukh, who expressed willingness to take the case, had to face Shiv Sena ire, former state Additional Advocate General P Janardhan has offered to represent Kasav if the Pakistan High Commission approa - ched him. Kasab has written to the Pakistani consulate asking for legal help and, according to the police, the letter has been sent to the Ministry of External Affairs.