‘I wanted to help the police right after attack’

Anamika Gupta has been claiming that she had a brush with some of the gunmen before the 26/11 terror attacks. But the crime branch, the investigating agency, recorded the Colaba beautician’s statement again on Friday, almost a year later, reports Shahkar Abidi.

Anamika Gupta has been claiming that she had a brush with some of the gunmen before the 26/11 terror attacks. But the crime branch, the investigating agency, recorded the Colaba beautician’s statement again on Friday, almost a year later.

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“I wanted to help the police and the country by giving my statement since right after the attack. But I don’t know why the police tried to stop me,” said Gupta outside the office of the Commissioner of Police.

Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Rakesh Maria, however, said that Gupta’s statement was recorded in December 2008.

“We are taking her statement again, after she gave an interview to a television claiming a lot of things,” said Maria. He refused to say whether there were any discrepancies in the two statements.

Gupta claimed the police had distorted facts in her first statement.

The 28-year-old, in her latest statement, has claimed that she saw four men on two motorcycles late on the night of November 24 when she had stepped out of her house for a smoke.

“The men were moving from Nariman House towards Colaba causeway,” said Gupta who lives behind Nariman House.

Gupta claimed one of the men was Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist now facing trial. Kasab had long hair then, she said.

“The second one was partially bald and had bad teeth. One of them was quite handsome,” she said.

“I thought they must have come from Israel as only they [Israelis] come to Nariman House.”

The second time she saw two of these men was on the night of the attacks. Gupta’s statement says that she was at Leopold cafe with three friends when she saw the “handsome man” and another man seated at a table across her.

“I told my friends that he was the same man I had seen near Nariman House earlier. Then I got up to go to the washroom,” Gupta recalled.

“He was also going to the loo. We brushed against each other. He did not say anything then. But after coming out of the wash room he said, ‘It’s ok’.”

Gupta claimed barely five minutes later, she saw the man and his associate firing indiscriminately. She sustained three bullet injuries on her stomach.

The beautician said that she and her friends ran towards Colaba police station but a constable refused to let them enter.

“Outside I saw two other gunmen moving towards Colaba causeway. When I told the police this they asked me to keep my mouth shut.”