Rakesh Maria’s memoir, Let Me Say It Now, has stirred quite the controversy. His ‘revelations’ on the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s plan to project the 26/11 terrorists as Hindu radicals have evoked sharp reactions even from political quarters. But, has this information really never been disclosed before?
Since 2008, multiple media reports have already been published explaining the intricate details of the planning and execution of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
The Red String Around Kasab’s Wrist
Writing about Kasab in his book, Maria says, “If all had gone well, he would have been dead with a red string tied around his wrist like a Hindu.” This was allegedly a part of Lashkar’s larger plot to blame the attack on ‘Hindu terrorists’.
When pictures of Ajmal Kasab holding an assault rifle at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus emerged days after the fateful night, the red string tied to his right wrist was hard to miss.
An article by The Times of India titled, ‘With sacred threads, Abu Jundal tried to colour 26/11 saffron’ published in around June 2012, reported that LeT terrorist Abu Jundal had confirmed that he and the other masterminds of the terror attack wanted to make the attack seem like it was planned by Hindu radicals.
“As part of the deception, gunman Ajmal Kasab and the other terrorists were made to wear saffron wristbands (maulis). Also, IDs bearing Hindu names like Sameer Chaudhary, were organised.”Reported by TOI in 2012
Terrorists Held Fake ID Cards
Ajmal Kasab’s fictitious name, ‘Samir Dinesh Chaudhuri’, had been revealed by the investigating agencies in the months following the attack. Like Kasab, all the terrorists were found to possess fake identity cards and most of ID cards bore Hindu names.
In his book, Maria writes, that Kasab’s ID card was drawn up in the name of “Samir Dinesh Chaudhuri, student of Arunodaya Degree and PG College, Vedre Complex, Dilkhushnagar, Hyderabad, 500060”. The ID card stated that he was a resident of Nagarbhavi in Bengaluru.
In December 2008, News18 published a report revealing the same information, less than three weeks after the attack.
Rediff.com also reported that all the terrorists involved in the attack tried to pass off as students studying at a college in Bengaluru.
“The ID cards were in the name of a college located in Kengeri, a small town around 40 km from Bengaluru. But the terrorists erred by mentioning that they were post-graduate students. When the Bengaluru police verified the ID cards with the college the management pointed out that one, they did not run a PG course and, two, the address was wrongly printed on the ID cards.”Reported by Rediff.com in December 2008
Despite these facts being public knowledge much prior to them finding mention in Rakesh Maria’s book, Union minister Piyush Goyal questioned the former Mumbai CP and the Congress (which had held power at the Centre at the time) for allegedly hatching a conspiracy by not disclosing these details.
“Why is Mr Maria making these revelations now? He should have said these things when he was the Police Commissioner. According to service rules, if senior police officials are privy to some information, they should have acted on it. According to me, this was big conspiracy that was hatched by the Congress and UPA,” said Goyal.
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