According to sources, IC 814 mastermind's phone was under surveillance but was soon dropped from the list after it stayed dormant
According to sources, IC 814 mastermind's phone was under surveillance but was soon dropped from the list after it stayed dormant
Had the intelligence agencies been a little more patient in their surveillance operation they may have been able to prevent the IC 814 hijacking incident.
According to sources, the slain Joint Commissioner Hemant Karkare had tipped off the Mumbai police about a particular telephone number that belonged to mastermind Abdul Latif Rauf.
Karkare, who was then on deputation to a central intelligence agency, had clearly listed Rauf as a prime suspect.
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The number was kept under surveillance for a while, but after it stayed dormant for a few weeks it was dropped from the watch list.
"Had the line been kept under observation Rauf would have been detected and IC 814 hijacking could have been foiled," said former home minister Chhagan Bhujbal.
Rauf was apprehended at Chile in South America on Saturday.
The Mumbai police will want to question Rauf one of the masterminds involved in the hijacking of IC 814 at Kathmandu in December 1999 in connection with fake licences and passports obtained from Mumbai.
Rauf will also face charges under the arms act when deported to Mumbai. He may be also slapped with serious charges like waging war against the country under the provisions of TADA, a senior police officer informed.
Additional Director General of Police Rakesh Maria was not available for comment. Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajkumar Vhatkar refused to comment.
Mumbai connection
Jaish-e-Mohammed trained Rauf stayed at a fifth floor apartment at Jogeshwari from where he managed to obtain a driving licence and an Indian passport. These documents were used to escape to Nepal via New Delhi and Ghorakpur in Uttar Pradesh.
It was in Mumbai that the IC 814 hijackers managed to set camp and procure passports and it was from Jogeshwari that the police arrested Pakistani national Mohammed Asif alias Babloo Mohajir.
A team of officers from the crime branch raided the fifth floor apartment at Jogeshwari where Rauf was holed up.
They seized one dozen AK 45 assault rifles, rocket launchers and hand grenades, recalled Daya Nayak, one of the members of the raiding team.
Pakistan's ISI on the other hand felt Asif and Rauf knew the city well and could be helpful in setting up a network for the logistic team. Masterminds Mulla Umer and Azar Masood's indoctrination of jehad left a deep impact on Rauf.
He was soon asked to lead the team of hijackers on December 24, 1999.
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