Pakistani fidayeen Mohammed Ajmal Kasab was given a Hindu identity and masquerade as a student from Bengaluru.
Kasab was among the group of 10 that carried out a terror attack on Mumbai in November 2008, and the lone Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist to be captured alive. They were given Hindu names and red-coloured strings to tie on their wrists.
In his memories 'Let Me Say It Now', retired IPS officer Rakesh Maria, who as Mumbai Crime Branch-CID chief investigated 26/11 terror attacks, spoke about this in detail.
According to Maria, the LeT wanted him to be killed as a Bengaluru resident ‘Samir Dinesh Chaudhari’, with a "red thread" tied around his wrist to portray the attack as a case of ‘Hindu terror’, but their plan apparently did not succeed and the police nabbed Kasab, who hailed from Faridkot in Pakistan.
"....There would have been screaming headlines on newspapers claiming how Hindu terrorists have attacked Mumbai. Over the top, TV journalists would have made a beeline for Bengalaru to interview his family and neighbours...," Maria writes.
It needs to be mentioned here that Kasab in his confessional statement has mentioned about the Hindu identity, a fact that was later corroborated by secret agent David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American.
".....As per the pre-decided plan, Kaahfa gave us I-cards with Hindu names. My I-card showed that I am a student of Arunodaya Degree College, Bangalore and my name was Sameer Chaudhari, son of Dinesh Chaudhari...," Kasab had stated during his confession before a Mumbai magistrate's court.
Headley, while deposing before special court through video conferencing, had said he visited Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple, made video of premises and purchased 15-20 wrist bands (sacred thread) for 26/11 attackers so that they would look like Indians, as a cover up of their identities. "When I returned to Pakistan, I gave those bands (sacred threads) to Sajid Mir who thought it was a good idea," he had said.
(Published 18 February 2020, 12:35 IST)
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