Pak-based conspirators too must be exposed: 26/11 survivor

Mumbai: Devika Rotawan, a survivor of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, said on Thursday that the extradition of key accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana from the US was a big win for India and demanded other conspirators holed up in Pakistan be also exposed and brought to book.

Rotawan, a key witness in the 26/11 case who identified terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab (the lone surviving attacker) in court during the trial, sought capital punishment for Rana (64).

At just nine years old, Rotawan was caught in the crossfire at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai, one of the sites attacked by terrorists on the night of November 26, 2008. She was struck by a bullet in her leg. Her testimony was crucial in the trial of Kasab, who was later convicted by a Mumbai court for his role in the attacks and hanged in 2012.

Talking about Rana’s extradition to India, Rotawan, now 25, said she was happy that India has got one of the conspirators of the terror strikes to face justice in the country.

“This is a big win for India, and I want to thank the Indian government for this achievement. With Rana being brought to India to face justice, it is the beginning of the end of terrorism in India, “ Rotawan told PTI.

Indian security agencies should gather more information from Rana during his interrogation and expose all terror elements still holed up in Pakistan, she averred.

“Rana should get capital punishment, but elements that are still sponsoring terrorism from Pakistan and encouraging terror activities should also get strict punishment,” the survivor asserted.

The horror

On November 26, 2008, Rotawan, along with her father and brother, was going to Pune and was sitting between platform numbers 12 and 13 waiting for the train when the crowded station came under attack.

Recalling the night of carnage, she said, “I saw a man (later identified as Kasab) with a big gun in his hand opening fire at passengers. I saw many dead bodies and injured passengers. I was just nine years old then. I did not know what was happening in the front of my eyes.”

After sustaining injuries in the firing, Rotawan fell unconscious and was rushed to the nearby St. George Hospital first and then to the state-run J. J Hospital in central Mumbai where she had six surgeries on her leg.

“I saw Kasab firing at passengers, and my father saw both Kasab and Abu Ismail (another terrorist who was killed by security forces). On June 10, 2009, we went to the trial court, where we identified Kasab,” she recalled.

Hang him: says ex-cop whose team caught Kasab

Mumbai: A former police officer, whose team had caught terrorist Ajmal Kasab during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, on Thursday said all the accused involved in the conspiracy of the 26/11 case should be tried by courts in India and given capital punishment.

Talking to PTI, retired officer Hemant Bavdhankar congratulated the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the successful extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, one of the key conspirators of the 26/11 attacks, to India.

“Not only me, but all the Indians have a feeling that the accused involved in the 26/11 terror attacks should get capital punishment after a trial in India,” he said.

“If we are able to punish all the accused persons who were involved in the Mumbai terror attacks conspiracy, our martyrs and innocent citizens who were killed or injured in the attack, will get justice. This is what I feel,” Bavdhankar said.

Soon after the terrorists launched attacks at different places in the metropolis on November 26, 2008, Bavdhankar, who was then a police inspector, was posted at Girgaon Chowpatty in south Mumbai along with his team as part of the nakabandi (road blockade) operation.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Tukaram Omble, who was part of the team, played a crucial role in nabbing alive terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who along with Abu Ismail, had hijacked a car. Armed with only a baton, Omble confronted the terrorists sitting in the car and attained martyrdom in the process. Bavdhankar and other members of the team later apprehended Kasab alive, whereas Abu Ismail was killed by the bullet fired by the officer. Kasab was the lone terrorist from the Pakistani group who was captured alive.

Kasab and Ismail were among the 10-member heavily armed Pakistani terrorists who went on a rampage, carrying out a coordinated attack on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, after they sneaked into India’s financial capital using the sea route in the Arabian Sea.

As many as 166 persons, including US citizens, were killed in the nearly 60-hour terror assault.

‘Don’t give special treatment, biryani to Rana’

A tea seller who helped many people escape the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks has said accused Tahawwur Rana should not be given any special treatment, like biryani or a separate cell, and demanded that he be hanged to death.

Talking to PTI, Mohammed Taufiq, also known as ‘Chotu Chai Wala’, also demanded stricter laws in the country to deal with terrorists.

Taufiq was operating his tea stall at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai when it came under attack from terrorists in November 2008. He recounted seeing people dying in front of his eyes during the assault.

He had then alerted a large number of people, guided them towards a safe direction at the station to escape from the attack and rushed many of the injured persons to hospital.

“There is no need to provide a separate cell, or biryani and other facilities to Tahawwur Rana, like those given to Ajmal Kasab (the lone terrorist from the Pakistani group captured alive),” Taufiq said.

Notably, Kasab’s demand for mutton biryani in jail was just a myth and was “concocted” to stop an “emotional wave” which was being created in favour of the militant, Ujjwal Nikam, public prosecutor in the case, said in 2015.

“Kasab never demanded biryani and was never served by the government. I concocted it just to break an emotional atmosphere which was taking shape in favour of Kasab during the trial of the case,” Nikam had said. “There should be a strict law in India also for terrorists. Rana being brought to India is good news for us, but he should be hanged publicly within 15 days or in two-three months,” the tea seller said.

“There is no need to give any special treatment to such people and spend crores of rupees on them like we did on Kasab. I will celebrate once Rana is given death penalty. He should be hanged to death before anyone tries to save him,” Taufiq said.

The government has provided help to the victims but money cannot bring back anyone’s life, he added.