Cell calls traced to Pak armyman, say police
The Mumbai police’s chargesheet details the role of two Pakistani armymen in the planning and execution of the 26/11 terror strike, reports Debasish Panigrahi.
The Mumbai police’s chargesheet details the role of two Pakistani armymen in the planning and execution of the 26/11 terror strike.
The police said that during interrogation, arrested Pakistani LeT operative Ajmal Amir Kasab as well as LeT operatives Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Mohammad said a “Major General Sahab” was involved in the training at the camps for LeT footsoldiers engaged in Anti-India operations. Joint commissioner of police, crime, Rakesh Maria said efforts were on to identify this man.
The charge sheet also provides evidence of a Colonel and a civilian — both with the Special Communication Organisation operating under Pakistan’s ministry of Information and Technology -- facilitating the VoIP-aided (voice over Internet protocol) communications the Mumbai attackers had with their handlers in Pakistan during the attack. The SCO is the biggest telecom service provider in Pakistan’s northern areas and in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Mumbai police cyber crime cell tracked down the two during their search for Kharak Singh, the mysterious Indian name used to open a VoIP account with CALLPHONEX, a New Jersey-based service provider.
The terrorists had in their possession cellphones with the numbers 9819464530, 9820704561, and 9910719424. The incoming calls came from the number 0120125384. The outgoing calls were made to numbers 43720880764, 43720880767, and 43720880768.
The numbers were connected to CALLPHONEX. The account had been opened on October 21 and 22, 2008, by a person claiming to be Kharak Singh from India. On October 27, the initial payment of $250 was wired to the account by Muhammad Ishfaq through Moneygram agent Paracha International Exchange, located at Anarkali Fayazuddin Road in Lahore. Ishfaq had given his address as “Post Office Mall Awn, The Gujar K, Peshawar” in Pakistan with a telephone number.
The second payment of $229 was made on November 25, a day before the attackers reached the Mumbai coast. It was through Western Union Money Transfer agent Madina Trading in Brescia, Italy. The sender was Javed Iqbal who had provided his Pakistani passport (No KC092481) for identification.
The police said their investigation showed the communication with Callphonex was made using e-mail ID, kharak telco@yahoo.com. This ID was accessed from at least 10 Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. It is from one of the IP addresses that the cyber crime cell traced the location of Col. R Saadat Ullah and Khurram Shazad. The address: “Col. R Saadat Ullah, Special Communication Organisation, Qasim Road, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.” Col. Saadat Ullah’s e-mail ID has been identified as pmit@sco.gov.pk.
Get Current Updates on India News, Ram Navami Live Updates , Lok Sabha Election 2024 live, Elections 2024, Election 2024 Date along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.