Top officials handling the monitoring operation have told The Sunday Express that each conversation lasted two to three minutes and that the terrorists were given instructions in “Punjabi Hindi” with heavy use of military terminology.

“Use cover fire”, “use single burst fire”, “use your rounds sparingly”, for instance, are some of the instructions.

On the morning of November 27, when the Taj firefight was on, the Karachi handler asked the terrorist to begin thinking of an escape route. “Hotel mein aag laga do. Jab public bhaage gi, tum escape kar lena (burn the hotel down and in the pandemonium, you can escape).” These intercepts were shared, in real time, with the NSG commandos during the operation and will now form part of the evidence as the probe begins into the most daring terror attack on Indian soil. Sources said that interception of the Taj terrorist’s phone began within minutes of the siege on the night of November 26. Soon, the Maharashtra State intelligence, too, began monitoring the phone. The phone was monitored until last night when the terrorist was killed by NSG commandos. The Taj interception yielded tapes of all eight conversations between the terrorist and “Amir”. At Nariman House, the interception began on November 27 and lasted until last night when the terrorist was gunned down.

At least three calls were made and recorded between him and the same “Amir.” According to sources, the terrorists were also instructed on the phone to take hostages. In the course of one conversation recorded in Nariman House on November 27, the militants were asked to take a hostage immediately to “make a point.”