Mumbai massacre: Cops ignored reports on gunmen two hours before shootings

Nov 30 2008 By Charles Lavery

THE terrorists who brought carnage to Mumbai were spotted a full two hours before they reached their targets.

Police failed to act on reports from fishermen that heavily armed men had beached on Sassoon Dock in a fast boat.

The Indian city was in mourning yesterday after the savage strikes killed 195.

The death toll is expected to rise beyond 200, with over 300 people injured.

Yesterday, the siege at the Taj Mahal Palace was finally declared over. Police said all the terrorists holed up in the luxury hotel were dead.

The building now lies in ruins along with another target, the Oberoi.

A clean-up operation was continuing at the other targets, including two hospitals and Mumbai's main police station.

Last night it was revealed that the terrorists - from the littleknown Deccan Mujahadin - could have been stopped two hours before the attacks began.

They arrived at the docks aboard a rigid inflatable boat, or rib.

One fisherman who saw them confirmed: "Some armed men were seen landing on the rib.

"The police were given a warning but it took them a long time to react."

The terror group had taken over an Indian fishing trawler called Kuber, murdered four of its crew and forced Captain Amarjit Singh to sail to within five nautical miles of Mumbai.

He was then beheaded and his remains thrown below decks.

The gang came ashore on the rib before splitting into groups of two and making their way into the city.

They began opening fire at carefully selected locations across Mumbai with a high tourist presence.

Last night, officials were still investigating claims that some of the terrorists were British.

Captured gunman Ajmal Amir Kamal, 21, has told his interrogators that he is British-born - and that at least one other member of the 12- strong gang was British too, A gunman pictured shooting commuters at the rail station was named as Mohammed Ajmal Qasam, 21. He is said to speak perfect English.

PM Gordon Brown said there was "no evidence" of British involvement.

But a senior Mumbai police official said: "Two British-born Pakistanis, along with another from Faridkot near Multan in Pakistan, have been arrested in connection with the Mumbai carnage.

"All three are injured, though not grievously."

A Scotland Yard anti-terrorist team is on its way to Mumbai to assist the inquiry.

Kamal was taken alive on Wednesday and has claimed his group travelled from Rawalpindi to Karachi and them from Karachi to Mumbai. He claimed months of planning went into the military assault on Mumbai. Kamal also said some of the terrorists found jobs in the very hotels they would later attack.

Two worked at the Taj Palace Hotel - one for 10 months in the kitchen and for eight months in room service. Kamal revealed he travelled to Pakistan for training.

The group was given three months' training each, one month's rest and provided with rifles, seven magazines and eight grenades.

They carried rucksacks with credit cards, identity cards and a vast arsenal of grenades, AK- 47 magazines and shells. They also carried dried fruit, water and almonds, indicating they knew there could be a lengthy siege.

And the city began to bury its dead.

Hundreds packed a quiet side street in central Mumbai to pay tribute to anti-terrorism chief Hemant Karkare, 54, who was killed in the attacks. The Hindu funeral was a riot of colour as onlookers threw flowers - but the mood was sombre and his family were visibly shaken.

Karkare's body was carried in a procession before he was cremated with full state honours.

Biki Oberoi, chairman of the Oberoi hotel chain, said: "The last few days have been traumatic for all of us. I would like to recognise the heroism shown by the law enforcement agencies and by our staff.

"They have risked their lives for the safety of our guests and in doing so, some of them have made the supreme sacrifice. "

In the US, President-elect Barack Obama said targeting innocent civilians would not defeat India's great democracy. The British Deputy High Commissioner in Mumbai, Vicki Treadell, said she could not rule out further British fatalities.

She said: "The picture has yet to be clarified.

"We have managed to help up to 90 British nationals to get home in the last two days.

"There are more who will be getting on flights tonight." Soon, the people of Mumbai will try to return to normality.

But housewife Ayesha Dar, 33, warned: "There is a limit a city can take. This is a very, very different kind of fear.

"It will be some time before things get back to normal."

TIMETABLE OF TERROR

The death toll for the three-day killing spree is 196 but is set to top 200. Over 350 have been injured, including dozens of foreigners.

THURSDAY 3am

GOKULADAS TEJPAL HOSPITAL

THE Leopold gunmen attack a nearby hospital killing eight people.

DEAD: 8

INJURED: More than 12

WEDNESDAY 11pm

METRO CINEMA

The gunmen who brought murder to Cafe Leopold spray a police car with bullets, killing one senior officer and injuring scores of cinema-goers.

DEAD: 1

INJURED: 12

WEDNESDAY 9:45pm

TRIDENT OBEROI HOTEL

GUNMEN start a killing spree in the foyer. Siege ends on Friday afternoon when commandos kill last two terrorists after fighting from room to room.

DEAD: Over 40.

INJURED: Unclear but more than 140. people are led to safety after security forces make a room-by-room sweep.

Scots bank manager Roger Hunt, 42, spent 36 hours hiding in his 14th-floor room. The dad of two, tells his mum: "I was a bit worried when they came and hammered on my door but it was the rescue party, thank God."

WEDNESDAY 10pm

CAFE LEOPOLD

TOURISTS in the trendy hangout scatter when two men armed with automatic weapons spray the place with bullets. A waitress is shot at point blank range.

Actor Joey Jeetun, 31, who played a suicide bomber in a TV drama of London's 7/7 attacks, says: "I curled up in a small ball. I was covered in other people's blood and I think that is what saved me."

DEAD: At least 20.

INJURED: 12

WEDNESDAY 10pm

CHABAD HOUSE

The orthodox Jewish community centre is over-run by at least two gunmen. New York Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivkah, both pictured right, are inside with others, including their son Moshe, two.

On Friday, Indian commandos storm the centre. All TV news footage is cut as terrorists are watching events on mobile devices.

The bodies of the rabbi and his wife are found after a firefight. Moshe is rescued. Two Israelis and another American also die.

DEAD: 5

INJURED: Unknown.

THURSDAY 12 noon

MUMBAI POLICE HQ

IN a well-planned assault on the city, gunmen attack the main police headquarters with grenades and automatic rifle fire.

DEAD: Unknown

INJURED: Unknown

THURSDAY 2:30am

CAMA HOSPITAL

MILITANTS target city's main hospital and shoot porters and security guards. Senior anti-terror policeman Hemant Karkare and three others are killed.

DEAD: At least 7.

INJURED: More than 10.

WEDNESDAY 9:45pm

RAILWAY STATION

FOUR men walk into Chattrapati Shivaji station, Mumbai's main terminal, and start shooting. A photographer captures one of the killers, dressed as a backpacker but toting an assault rifle, strolling through the concourse. Police did not return fire. Photographer Sebastian D'Souza said: "They fired at anything that moved."

DEAD: At least 50.

INJURED: At least 20.

WEDNESDAY 9:45pm

TAJ MAHAL HOTEL

MACHINE gun fire peppers the lobby of one of India's most iconic hotels as terrorists move in.

It takes Indian forces until Friday to kill the last two. More than 140 people held hostage and fires rage.

Sajjad Karim, a north-west England MEP, was confronted by a smiling gunman as he tried to flee.

The MEP said: "He just blocked our way, smiling, and started shooting."

DEAD: More than 50.

INJURED: 30 hurt and more than 140 guests are led to safety.

WEDNESDAY 8pm

DOCKS

A DOZEN heavily armed men ditch waterproof jackets and haul backpacks and arms from a inflatable boat in a Southern Mumbai dock.

Local fishermen alert police who fail to act. By the time officers arrive at the southern Mumbai docks two hours later the men have vanished - and are in the city about to unleash mayhem.

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