Former Mumbai Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria in his tell-all book ‘Let Me Say It Now’ has revealed that 26/11 Mumbai terror attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab had an ID with Hindu name on it. The ID found on Kasab had his name as “Samir Chaudhary”. Maria was on the control room duty on the day 10 Pakistani terrorists wrecked havoc in Mumbai.
Maria reveals how he unraveled the plot ISI and Lashkar-e-Toiba had hatched against India during the interrogation. All ten terrorists were made to seem like they were disgruntled Hindus who were against India because of ‘atrocities’ against Muslims. All ten terrorists were given saffron or red thread to be tied around their wrist. Identity cards with Hindu names with Indian addresses were placed in their pockets as the ISI and Lashkar wanted all the ten terrorists to die in the attack. Catching Kasab alive was the biggest breakthrough for Mumbai Police. Had he not been caught alive, the whole world would have been led to believe that this was a Hindu terror attack.
Because of this, guarding Kasab and ensuring his safety was more challenging to make sure he stays alive till the end of the trial. Earlier it was reported that the 26/11 terrorists even carried fake student ID cards of Arunoday College in Hyderabad. Maria reveals that Kasab was made to believe that Muslims are not allowed to offer namaz in India and that mosques are locked up. He thought that the azaan he heard in his prison cell was figment of his imagination. Maria then got police officials to take Kasab to a nearby mosque in a police vehicle to show that Indian Muslims are indeed allowed to offer namaz, contrary to what he was made to believe.
In 2010, months after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, along with film maker Mahesh Bhatt and others had launched a book which claimed that the Mumbai terror attacks were an RSS conspiracy. While the world was holding Pakistan responsible for 26/11, then Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh & close aide of Rahul Gandhi, had released the book “26/11 RSS Ki Saazish?” (26/11,An RSS Conspiracy?). The book was authored by Aziz Burney, Editor-in-Chief of Urdu Sahara newspaper.
Further, Singh had alleged that Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare had called him two hours before the 26/11 attack in Mumbai to say that his life was blighted by constant threats from those opposed to the ATS probe into the 2008 Malegaon blast in which Hindu extremists were accused. Thus, Singh had exonerated Pakistan and had decided to push the blame of 26/11 attack on RSS and Hindu extremists.
On Sheena Bora case, Maria, in his autobiography, says that a Mumbai Police officer kept him in dark about crucial information in the case. When he was promoted and transferred as Director General of Home Guards in middle of the case, Maharashtra government had issued a statement that even though he was transferred, he would continue to oversee the case. He further states that he suspected someone had wrongly briefed the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about the murder case on his behalf.
In fact, Maria further reveals that the then Mumbai Joint Commissioner Deven Bharti kept him in the dark about knowledge of Indrani and Peter Mukerjea. During interrogation Peter had revealed that he had approached Bharti back in 2012 after Sheena went missing but Maria was not informed about this. Bharti is currently the ATS chief of Maharashtra.
As per reports, in his autobiography, the former Mumbai top cop says that owing to his informant network, he managed to save business tycoon Lalit Modi’s life. After Maria met Modi in London in 2014 when he was there for a conference, it had led to a lot of controversy. Maria says that after his meet with the tainted ex-IPL boss, he had soon informed the Home Ministry of the same. Modi was being threatened by the underworld back then.
