E-Paper
How terror came calling
Here are details of calls Pak handlers of the 26/11 attackers made to their Indian contacts, as reported by HT on Saturday. This contradicts Home Minister P Chidambaram’s recent statement that the terrorists got no local help, reports Stavan Desai. See Graphics
The report submitted by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to the Mumbai police crime branch, which is part of the 26/11 chargesheet, has details of phone calls made by Pakistan-based handlers of the attackers to places in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Delhi before, during and after the strikes.
The calls were made between November 23 and 28 by using the Callphonex platform of US-based Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider International Connection Service Incorporated (ICS). Callphonex had provided 30 VoIP connections to one Kharak Singh who posed as a VoIP reseller from India at the time of procuring them. After the attacks, investigations by the FBI showed payments for these connections were made from Pakistan and Italy.
Singh, about whom security agencies know little, has been named in the chargesheet as one of 35 accused yet to be arrested. He allegedly facilitated communication between the attackers and their masters from across the border.
However, the identities of persons in India to whom the calls were made have not been investigated, nor are they part of the probe into the case.
A total of 166 persons, including three top police officers of the state, were killed and 304 injured in the attacks.
