'We wanted to hit CST at peak hour'

MUMBAI: Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab (21), the terrorist arrested by Mumbai Police, has told his interrogators that their plan was to get off the dinghy near the fishing village at Badhwar Park, Cuffe Parade, at dusk and strike all targets except Nariman House between 7 pm and 8 pm. However, the landing was delayed and they reached at 8.45 pm.

'' They knew that the crowds at CST would be thickest at 7.30 pm and their bullets would cause the greatest harm,'' said an officer on condition of anonymity. Kasab told interrogators that Cama hospital and Metro cinema were not in their plan which was to take hostages at CST and return to base by hijacking a boat off the Gateway of India.

The duo opened fire at platform no 13 of CST station, which caters to outstation trains, around 9.45 pm. Then, they walked towards the concourse of the local train station. By then, the commuters had dispersed. Afraid that they would be spotted and shot, they exited the station from the foot overbridge on the Northern end, walked past the Times of India building and went towards Cama Hospital.

According to Kasab, this was not in the plan. At Cama hospital, they encountered a police team led by additional commissioner Sadanand Date. When cornered, they lobbed grenades, injuring Date and two constables, and fled towards Rang Bhavan, where they killed five more policemen, including ATS chief Hemant Karkare.

Their landing was delayed because it took them some time to locate a trawler to hijack off the coast of Porbandar.

Courtesy: The Times of India