Security beefed up at railway stations, airports and other public places in the city after IB alert.
The Intelligence Bureau has warned of 26/11 type attacks in Mumbai and there is a possibility that terrorists might sneak into the city and target important public places in the next two to three months. The letter has been sent by the intelligence agencies to the city police saying that Pakistan-based terror outfit LeT is planning to send at least 8-10 militants to target hotels and railway stations in the financial capital of the country.
A new name of Karachi based Abu Yakub has emerges in the development. After Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi jailed in Pakistan in connection with 26/11 case Abu Yakub is leading the operation against India. Sources in security establishment said the wing of the LeT responsible for sea-borne attacks is headed by Abu Yakub. The module established by this man is called “ice cube” and he is responsible for all sea-borne attacks, including the 2008 assault on India’s financial hub.
According to sources, “Even after the 2008 attacks, Yakub has not been prosecuted and continues to operate from Karachi in Pakistan. There is no further information available about him and his photographs too are not available with agencies.”
In 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists entered Mumbai via the sea route and killed over 166 people in a siege that lasted three days. While nine of the terrorists were killed by security agencies, one of them Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab was arrested and tried in the court.
Kasab was found guilty of murder, conspiracy to murder, waging war against the country, abetting murder and indulging in terrorist activities. He was sentenced to death and hanged on November 21, 2012 at Pune’s Yerawada jail and later buried inside the jail premises.
While India has accused Pakistan of training, funding and pushing Kasab and his fellow terrorists into India to carry out the carnage in Mumbai, and also presented several documents and dossiers as evidence, Islamabad has refused to take concrete action against terror groups targeting India.
Since the attack, India has upgraded coastal security, invested heavily on patrol vessels, helicopters and building a coastal radar network. All states and airports have now been put on high alert following the warning.
On April 10, 2015 LeT commander and 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi walked out of Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Fifty five-year-old Lakhvi guided the 10 LeT terrorists from a control room in Pakistan during 26/11 attacks.
Lakhvi, a close relative of LeT founder and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, was arrested in December 2008 and was indicted along with the six others on November 25, 2009. The trial has been underway since 2009.
The Government Railway Police (GRP) has issued a circular to all 17 railway police stations in Mumbai, directing officials to beef up security at railway stations. Every railway station has multiple entry and exit points and officials were asked to keep a vigil on any suspicious activity.
