Kasab carried fake ID, LeT wanted to project 26/11 as 'Hindu terror': Rakesh Maria
Terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who was hanged for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai attack, would have died as a Hindu man had Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) succeeded in its plan, claimed former Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria in his autobiography.
The revelation was made by Maria in his book 'Let Me Say it Now' in which he said Kasab carried a fake identity card under the name of Samir Chaudhary, a Bengaluru resident.
While describing LeT's plan to project the 26/11 attack as "Hindu Terror", Maria wrote, "If everything went according to plan, Kasab would have died as Chaudhari and the media would have blamed 'Hindu terrorists' for the attack."
The terror organisation had also reportedly planted fake ID cards with Indian addresses on the terrorists, he mentioned.
On a photograph of Kasab released after the terror attack, Maria mentioned "it was the handiwork of central agencies. The Mumbai Police tried hard to not disclose any details to media fearing for the security."
In the photograph, Kasab was seen wearing a red thread on his right wrist, which is believed to be a sacred Hindu thread.
Maria was heading the Mumbai Police crime branch when it was tasked with probing the 26/11 attack. The former police commissioner also claimed that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's gang was tasked with eliminating Kasab as he was the key evidence linking Pakistan's ISI and LeT with the attack.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Piyush Goyal questioned the timing of Maria's disclosure. "First of all, Why did Maria say all this right now? He should have disclosed this when he was the police commissioner. In reality, in service rules, if senior police officers have some information, they should act upon it."
Goyal claimed it was the Congress and UPA government's "game plan" to mislead people with "false allegations of Hindu terror".
"The country has given them a befitting answer with the 2014 and 2019 polls mandate. I think there is no reason for terror, a terrorist is a terrorist and our government strongly condemns Congress' action of trying to propogate false cases of Hindu terror," he said.
Over 72 people were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Kasab was the only attacker to have been captured alive by Mumbai Police. He was hanged on November 21 in 2012.
On Monday, Maria claimed in his book that at the beginning of the investigation into Sheena Bora's murder in 2015, Deven Bharti, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) had not disclosed to him that he knew jailed media baron Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani Mukerjea, who are prime suspects in the case.
Maria also claimed that Peter had informed Bharti about Sheena's disappearance much before her remains were discovered in a forest in Raigad in August 2015.
(Inputs from The Indian Express)
