26/11 Mumbai terror attack

26/11 Mumbai terror attack

The intercepted conversation between the executors of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and their Pakistani handlers during the carnage will be played in the Supreme Court on Thursday after the prosecution said it was an important evidence showing the strikes were “pre-planned”.
Hearing an appeal of Mohd Ajmal Amir Kasab , the sole convict of the carnage, against his death sentence, the court on Thursday said it would hear the intercepts tomorrow at 2 pm in the presence of counsel appearing for Kasab and the Maharshtra government.
Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the Maharashtra government, said there was no problem in playing the conversation in the court and all arrangements would be made for the bench to hear the same.
A bench of justices Aftab Alam and C.K. Prasad decided to listen to the conversation since the prosecution submitted that it was an important piece of evidence.
The prosecution had earlier told the court that the intercepts among the 10 terrorists and their handlers in Pakistan established that the terror attack in Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed, was “pre-planned and pre-arranged”.
The Supreme Court was told that evidence in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case involving Kasab and nine slain terrorists clearly showed it to be a “pre-meditated” assault on the country’s commercial capital by Pakistani terrorists, guided by their handlers from across the border.
“From the diary and intercepts of telephonic conversation between the terrorists and their handlers, three things are clear that the attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 was pre-meditated involving ten terrorists who were from Pakistan,” Subramaniam and Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had said while seeking the apex court’s endorsement of the death sentence awarded to 24-year-old Kasab.
Subramaniam had said that the diary recovered from the boat, Kuber, used by the terrorists to reach Mumbai, disclosed that they had come together and on reaching the city, they got divided into five groups with specific targets.
The prosecution said while the attack was launched at the Hotel Taj at the Gateway of India, the terrorists were interacting with their Pakistani handlers and the intercepted conversation clearly showed that they (handlers) asked them (terrorists) as to “why they did not sink the Kuber boat”.
Subramaniam had said while proceeding towards the CST in a taxi, Kasab planted a bomb beneath the driver’s seat which exploded after they alighted from the vehicle.
He said Kasab and his associate fired indiscriminately at the CST, killing 52 people.
Kasab has pleaded with the Supreme Court to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment.
The Supreme Court had on October 10 last year stayed the death sentence of Kasab.
In the special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Bombay High Court judgement, which had confirmed his death sentence, Kasab had claimed he was brainwashed like a “robot” into committing the heinous crime in the name of “God” and that he does not deserve capital punishment owing to his young age.
Kasab, who is lodged in Arthur Road Prison in Mumbai, had moved the SLP through the jail authorities.
Kasab, along with nine other Pakistani terrorists, had landed in south Mumbai on November 26, 2008 night after travelling from Karachi by sea and had gone on a shooting spree at various city landmarks.
While Kasab was captured alive, the other terrorists in his group had been killed by security forces during the counter-terror operations. He was sentenced to death by a special anti-terror court on May 6, 2010.
The Bombay High Court had on February 21, last year, upheld the trial court’s order of death sentence to Kasab for the “brutal and diabolical” attacks aimed at “destabilising” the government.
Kasab’s death penalty was upheld on charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law — Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The high court had upheld Kasab’s conviction on 19 counts under the IPC, Arms Act, Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act, Foreigners Act, Passport Act and Railway Act.

SC to hear 26/11 attackers intercepts

The intercepted conversation between the executors of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and their Pakistani handlers during the carnage will be played in the Supreme Court tomorrow after the prosecution said it was an important evidence showing the strikes were "pre-planned". Hearing an appeal of Mohd Ajmal Amir Kasab, the sole convict of the carnage, against his death sentence, the court today said it would hear the intercepts tomorrow at 2 pm in the presence of counsel appearing for Kasab and the Maharshtra government.

    

Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the Maharshtra government, said there was no problem in playing the conversation in the court and all arrangements would be made for the bench to hear the same. A bench of justices Aftab Alam and C K Prasad decided to listen to the conversation since the prosecution submitted that it was an important piece of evidence.

The prosecution had earlier told the court that the intercepts  among the ten terrorists and their handlers in Pakistan established that the terror attack in Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed, was "pre-planned and pre-arranged."

The apex court was told that evidence in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case involving Kasab and nine slain terrorists clearly showed it to be a "pre-meditated" assault on the country's commercial capital by Pakistani terrorists, guided by their handlers from across the border."From the diary and intercepts of telephonic conversation between the terrorists and their handlers, three things are clear that the attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 was pre-meditated involving ten terrorists who were from Pakistan," Subramaniam and Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had said while seeking the apex court's endorsement of the death sentence awarded to 24-year-old Kasab.

Subramaniam had said that the diary recovered from the boat, Kuber, used by the terrorists to reach Mumbai, disclosed that they had come together and on reaching the city, they got divided into five groups with specific targets.The prosecution said while the attack was launched at the Hotel Taj at the Gateway of India, the terrorists were interacting with their Pakistani handlers and the intercepted conversation clearly showed that they (handlers) asked them (terrorists) as to "why they did not sink the Kuber boat".

    

Subramaniam said the Pakistani handlers also sought confirmation about the killing of the navigator of Kuber, Amar Singh Solanki, who was beheaded by Kasab. The diary also disclosed that Kasab was known by the name Mujaheed to other terrorists. The prosecution said on reaching Budhawar Park, Kasab and other Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist Abu Ismaile took a taxi and proceeded towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) Railway Station which bore the major brunt of their design.   

Subramaniam had said while proceeding towards the CST in a taxi, Kasab planted a bomb beneath the driver's seat which exploded after they alighted from the vehicle.He said Kasab and his associate fired indiscriminately at the CST, killing 52 people. Kasab has pleaded with the Supreme Court to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment.The apex court had on October, 10 last year stayed the death sentence of Kasab.

In the special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Bombay High Court judgement, which had confirmed his death sentence, Kasab had claimed he was brainwashed like a "robot"into committing the heinous crime in the name of "God" and that he does not deserve capital punishment owing to his young age.

    

Kasab, who is lodged in Arthur Road Prison in Mumbai, had moved the SLP through the jail authorities. Kasab, along with nine other Pakistani terrorists, had landed in south Mumbai on November 26, 2008 night after travelling from Karachi by sea and had gone on a shooting spree at various city landmarks. While Kasab was captured alive, the other terrorists in his group had been killed by security forces during the counter-terror operations. He was sentenced to death by a special anti-terror court on May 6, 2010.

    

The Bombay High Court had on February 21, last year,upheld the trial court's order of death sentence to Kasab for the "brutal and diabolical" attacks aimed at "destabilising"the government.Kasab's death penalty was upheld on charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law --Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    

The high court had upheld Kasab's conviction on 19 counts under the IPC, Arms Act, Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act, Foreigners Act, Passport Act and Railway Act.

mumbai terrorist attack

Story of Narrow escape for Unilever bosses caught up in the terror of Bombay

The terrorist outrage in Bombay on Wednesday became only too real for the chief executive and senior board members of Unilever. They had to barricade themselves in a private dining room at the Taj Mahal hotel and then smash a window in a dramatic escape.

Patrick Cescau, the Frenchman who is chief executive of the food and soap combine, and his successor, Paul Polman, of the Netherlands, were among the guests at a formal dinner party organised by Hindustan Unilever, the European giant’s Indian subsidiary.

The intimate gathering was an assemblage of present and future power at a company that is a titan of Western capitalism, making world-famous brands such as Omo detergent, Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. The chief and the chief-in-waiting were accompanied by another Unilever board member, Harish Manwani, who is also chairman of Hindustan Unilever. He was joined by Nitin Paranjpe, chief executive of the local company.

It was to be a farewell to Mr Cescau and a welcome to Mr Polman at India’s most glittering venue. The hosts, who count among India’s corporate elite, were accompanied by their spouses and it was not until the dinner was well under way that the guests heard gunfire and were plunged into commotion. Instructed by the hotel staff, they turned out the lights and used furniture to barricade the door.

According to accounts in the Indian press, they crouched on the floor in silence as the sound of gunfire came nearer, hoping that the militants would ignore the darkened room. When smoke began to fill the room, they smashed a window for air. Between 3am and 4am firefighting teams reached the windows and helped the Unilever party to escape down ladders.

“It was awful,” a Unilever spokesman said. “They were pretty shaken.”

None of the Unilever party was injured and they suffered a narrow escape. There is no doubt that a different outcome would have been regarded by the terrorists as a strike against a British company that has deep roots in India. Unilever has a big commercial presence in Asian nations with large Muslim populations, such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Bombay’s stock market suffered sharp falls when it opened yesterday, then steadied as investors took confidence that the Indian economy would not be damaged by the terrorist assault at the heart of the country’s financial centre.

The rupee came under pressure, falling a percentage point against the dollar, and airline and hotel shares plummeted, but the market recovered its composure later. Bombay’s BSE index ended higher, up 0.7 per cent, as confidence rose amid hopes of further action by India’s central bank in cutting interest rates.

Shares in Indian Hotels, owner of the Taj Mahal and the scene of the worst violence over the past two days, fell by 17 per cent as the market opened after a full day’s closure. Jet Airways, the leading domestic airline, and Kingfisher Airlines, its main rival, both suffered share price falls of about 6 per cent.

Palaniappan Chidambaram, the Indian Finance Minister, said that the attacks in Bombay would hurt investor sentiment in the short term, as the Government revealed data showing a marked slowing in India’s economic growth rate. The Indian economy is growing at its slowest pace for four years, with GDP advancing by 7.6 per cent in the three months to September, compared with the third quarter last year. High interest rates, the credit crunch and capital outflows have slowed down the Indian juggernaut and the rate of growth is well below the second quarter’s rate of 7.9 per cent.

Bijal Shah, global markets strategist at Société Générale, said that India’s economy was too large and diverse to be badly affected by the events in Bombay. Foreign investment would quickly return to India, he said, attracted by low costs, the weakness of the rupee and a growing consumer sector. “[The attacks] may have a short-term negative effect on companies wanting to secure the safety of foreign personnel,” he said, “but India is a much more competitive market for manufacturers. Its market share will improve significantly.”

India’s growing tourism sector is likely to be affected, but even that is unlikely severely to harm growth prospects. “It’s not a huge chunk of the Indian economy. India is able to absorb these shocks,” Mr Shah said.

India makes key arrest in Mumbai terror plot

JUNE 26, 2012 ⋅ 1:28 PM ⋅ POST A COMMENT
FILED UNDER  ABU JUNDAL, INDIA, MUMBAI, PAKISTAN, TAJ MAHAL HOTEL

A key suspect in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed more than 160 people has been apprehended, Indian authorities said Tuesday.

The Indian-born man, known as Abu Jundal, was recently arrested in New Delhi, said public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
“He was a key conspirator, who abetted the attack and carried out the planning,” according to Nikam, who did not say when the arrest was made.

Investigators believe Jundal was on the phone coordinating the attack from Pakistan as 10 gunmen staged the bloody three-day siege throughout India’s commercial capital.

“He was there in the terror control room,” Nikam said. “His voice was intercepted here.”

While New Delhi police refused Tuesday to comment on the arrest, the Mumbai court handling the case has issued a warrant asking that Jundal appear before it.

The attacks targeted Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Oberoi-Trident hotels, the city’s historic Victoria Terminus train station and the Jewish cultural center, Chabad House.

India blamed the attacks on Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a Pakistan-based terror group allied with al Qaeda. The group denied responsibility.

Indian forces killed nine of the 10 gunmen and later put the lone survivor on trial.

In May 2010, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani who was photographed holding an assault weapon during the siege, was convicted of murder, conspiracy and waging war on India.

Two Indian nationals accused of conspiracy in the case — Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed — were acquitted by the court in Mumbai.

More than 160 people were killed in November 2008, as the 10 men attacked Mumbai buildings including the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Oberoi-Trident hotels, the city’s historic Victoria Terminus train station, and the Jewish cultural center, Chabad House.

India blamed the attacks on the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a Pakistan-based terror group allied with al Qaeda.

Authorities said Kasab was trained by the organization, which was banned in Pakistan in 2002 after an attack on India’s parliament.

The development derailed a fragile peace process between the nuclear-armed neighbors for about 15 months.

Under American pressure, the two arch-rivals resumed their full spectrum of dialogue last year in their bid to build trust.

The news of Jundal’s arrest comes ahead of next month’s meeting in New Delhi between Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries.

Pakistani diplomats said they will continue to cooperate with India on such matters.

“Pakistan has been in the forefront in the campaign against terror,” a statement from the Pakistani high commission in New Delhi said. “As agreed at the highest level between Pakistan and India, terrorism is a common concern and counter-terrorism cooperation is in the mutual interest of both countries.”
CNN

Photo taken on November 27, 2008, as Indian firefighters try to put out a fire at the historic Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, one of the sites of 2008 attacks.

26/11 Mumbai terror attacks

26/11 Mumbai terror attacks suspect 'confirms Pakistan role'


India's home minister on Wednesday said a key suspect in the 2008 Mumbai attacks had provided information confirming Pakistani "state support" for the deadly assault.

Fire fighters try to douse the fire as smoke rises from the Taj hotel building in Mumbai, 27 November 2008 Photo: EPA
2:12PM BST 27 Jun 2012
Abu Hamza, also known as Sayed Zabiuddin, an Indian-born member of the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, was detained at Delhi international airport on June 21 when he arrived from the Middle East.
Indian police believe he was one of the handlers based in the Pakistani city Karachi, who issued orders by telephone to 10 Islamist gunmen as they stormed two luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a restaurant and a train station in Mumbai.
The November 2008 attacks, which India has blamed on Lashkar-e-Taiba, left 166 people dead and more than 300 wounded.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram, speaking to reporters in the southern state of Kerala, said police interrogation of Hamza had confirmed Indian accusations that Pakistani state actors were also involved.
"The argument that non-state actors were behind the massacre is no longer valid. He has confirmed that he was in the control room (and) this has confirmed our suspicion that there was some organised effort," Chidambaram said.

"When I say, state actors, at the moment, I am not pointing my finger at any particular agency.
"But clearly there was state support or state actors' support for the 26/11 massacre," the home minister said.
Pakistan has asked India to share information on Hamza and has urged New Delhi to refrain from blaming Islamabad
"India should supply details about Abu Hamza, enabling us to take action," Pakistan's adviser on interior affairs, Rehman Malik, told a news conference in Islamabad.
Pakistan can respond only after India shares information and "we see Abu Hamza's statement," Malik said.
"Let us end the blame game ... We have to fight terrorism together," Malik added.
Pakistan, which has firmly denied allegations that state actors were involved, has indicted seven people for their alleged role in the attacks. Their trial, which began in 2009, has been beset by delays.
The United States has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the conviction of Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed who lives openly in Pakistan and is accused of masterminding the Mumbai attacks.