“About 950 trawlers carrying 8,000 fishermen come to Mumbai from Gujarati for eight months beginning August every year. Four months ago, Gujarat-based fisherfolk leader Devabhai Bhagat got information that a handful of these fishermen had connections with the underworld. He even tipped me off about the possibility of arms, grenades and RDX being brought to Mumbai via this route but the police did not take our tip-off seriously,” alleged Tandel. In a phone interview, Devabhai Bhagat said he had alerted Tandel and had even come to meet him about this matter four days ago.

DCP Kohe confirmed he had received a letter from Damodar Tandel. “The letter mentioned transportation of arms to Mumbai via the sea. But it was just a general statement, there was no specific information,” said Kohe. He said police jurisdiction extended to only 12 nautical miles into the sea. “The Customs, Navy and Coast Guard have a greater role. On our part, we have been regularly checking ships coming in every morning,” Kohe said.

Meanwhile, officials said they do not rule out the possibility that one or two associates of the attackers were already staying in the Taj Mahal and Trident hotels which made it easier for these men to navigate their way through these large hotels. Top sources also confirmed that local support was available to these terrorists and was possibly arranged by remnants of the Mumbai underworld, many of who now reside in Karachi.

Earlier this year, Lashkar operative Raziuddin Nasir, who was picked up in Karnataka, had revealed in his interrogation that the Lashkar was making preparations for an attack using the sea route. The attack on Mumbai, sources said, was planned at least over six months or even more, but did not get a go-ahead from the outfit top brass until the Muridke meeting.