While Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta today claimed the Navy had not received any actionable intelligence ahead of the Mumbai attack, it now turns out that the intelligence input received on November 19 even provided the exact coordinates of the “LeT (Lashkar-e-Toiba) vessel” four days before it entered Indian waters.

The location given in the intercept, 24.16. 36 N and 67.02.04 E, shows the vessel was about 60 km off Karachi on that day hovering very close to international waters, possibly observing Indian fishing trawlers. The input states that a LeT vessel at the given coordinates was “attempting to infiltrate through sea”. It also mentions the possibility of an Indian trawler being also used for this purpose.

The Research & Analysis Wing’s input had was passed on to National Security Council Secretariat and Joint Intelligence Council. Subsequently, this was shared with the Navy and the Coast Guard. Also, it was sent to Maharashtra government.

As is now known, the terrorists first boarded a Pakistani ship Al-Hussaini and sometime around November 22-23 hijacked Indian fishing trawler Kuber. This incident could have happened in Pakistani or international waters. The terrorists used Kuber to enter Indian territorial waters and for at least 72 hours were in these waters before reaching Mumbai. The specific coordinates of the vessel, sources said, ought to have been enough for the Coast Guard and Navy to take the input more seriously and prepare for contingency action besides stepping up vigil.

However, the terrorists were able toa escape all checks by using one of the crew members as cover and pretending to be Indian fishermen.

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