Mumbai:
The 26/11 terrorists either had advance teams study the targets or local support to carry out the strikes, former NSG chief J K Dutt tells NDTV.
It's an allegation that has been repeatedly denied by the government and security agencies.
"There could have been local support for the 26/11 attacks. Given how well the terrorists seemed to know their targets, either they had advance teams for reconnaissance or local support that guided them to their targets, said Dutt, who led the operations during the siege.
Investigators are looking at whether David Headley and Tahawwur Rana, who had travelled extensively to India before the attacks, may have been part of the wider planning behind 26/11.
More than ten terrorists behind 26/11 siege? (
See Video)
Were there more than 10 terrorists involved in the 26/11 siege of Mumbai?
JKDutt says it cannot be ruled out. Speakingto Barkha Dutt on 'We the People,' Dutt said more than 10 men fromPakistan may have entered India.
JK Dutt said that he believedit couldn't be ruled out that there were more than ten terroristsbehind the siege of Mumbai. He explained that they were told that therewere 10 AK 47s and so they believed that there were ten men in thehotel. But there could have been more who entered India around the sametime.
Excerpts from the interview:
JK Dutt: WhenI had contacted the senior official in Delhi to find out how manyterrorists we had to account for, I was told that I had to account for10 AK-47s. Now we had nine; two had been got by the local police, twoat Oberoi, Nariman House and three over here. It was only three hourslater when our NSG dog went around looking for unexploded grenades orexplosives that it smelt out sniffed out the tenth weapon that waslying under a lot of soot and carbon because...
Barkha: You were measuring ten terrorists by ten guns?
JK Dutt:Yes because I was told that we have to account for ten AK-47s so thenumber of terrorists we are able to determine by that number. At thesame time when the guests were being rescued, we had passed it on tothe local authorities that since the information is that some of themmay be staying as guests, you have to screen the hostages verycarefully.
Barkha: Would you say today that they were ten or could they have been more?
JK Dutt:You see this cannot be ruled out at present but this is a thing thathas to be done by the investigating agencies. As far as the shootingwas concerned, we were able to account for these ten and these are theten who were responsible.
Barkha: That others could havecome into the country you don't know about that but there were teninside the hotels that you got at that time.
Dutt: It was not my business to find out.