It's also confirmed that the terrorists got off Kuber and boarded an inflatable dinghy — Gemini craft — which they used to land on Mumbai's shore. Sources said that one of the terrorists caught is said to have admitted that Kuber had only one Gemini craft on board.

A Gemini craft is ideal for short-distance travel in the sea but not for long hauls. Interestingly, the serial number on a brand new Yamaha Out Board Motor (OBM) engine on the craft -- now with the Mumbai police -- had been obliterated. “They even removed the manufacturers' stickers on it,” the source said, underlining once again the level of planning that preceded the attack.

Sources said only about four litres of fuel was found to have been used in Gemini craft's 20-litre tank. “So we are working on the probability that a mother ship dropped the terrorists into a couple of Indian fishing boats (including Kuber) to avoid detection in Indian waters. Once they reached close to the alighting point, they lowered themselves into smaller crafts they had with them, splitting into groups for the attacks,” the source said.

The Coast Guard and the Navy, meanwhile, have been “instructed” to look for more boats and small crafts in the area, since at least one more boat like Kuber was likely to have been put to use. “The Kuber ferried only eight of them so a second boat must have ferried the remaining,” the source said.

A senior Gujarat police officer said Customs records said Kuber left on November 13 but local fishermen said it left on November 14. This could mean that it returned discreetly to Porbandar after leaving port on November 13 -- as per official records -- and then went on another journey a day later. Police are also investigating why the boat, which had sophisticated VHF and GPS systems on board, did not attempt to contact Indian security agencies.

... contd.