“Kahafa was a sort of course co-ordinator and was constantly shepherding the group. Hamza was involved during the advanced training in firearms and explosives,” says Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria, the officer in charge of the investigations.

LeT commander Hafiz Saeed too visited the group during their training. According to the Crime Branch, several of the handlers at the different training camps were names that had been dropped by arrested operatives of the Indian Mujahideen when grilled about their training in Pakistan.

The LeT operatives chosen for the operation attended a general training camp called Daura-e-Aam, a more rigorous one called Daura-e-Khasa, survival training, intelligence training known as Daura-e-Ribat and explosives training. For the last three months of their training, the ten were kept away from all other operatives and were trained in marine operations to prepare them to reach Mumbai by sea. It was during this last arduous phase of training that the men—grouped in pairs—were briefed about their specific targets in the city. While Kasab was given the code name Abu Mujahid, the other nine terrorists were given the names Abu Ismael, Abdul Rehman (Bada), Abu Ali, Soheb, Abu Umer, Abu Umar, Abu Akasha, Abdul Rehman (Chhota) and Abu Fahad.

According to investigators, the Daure-e-Aam training programme lasted for 21 days and began with offering tahjud ki namaaz, fazr ki namaaz and physical exercises in the morning. This was followed by breakfast and then a training session in weapons such as the AK-47, automatic pistols and other firearms, as well as in handling grenades. Besides, there were preachings on the Quran, Hadith and lessons on jihad. After offering the prayers of namaaz-e-maghrib and namaaz-e-esha, the groups were made to keep night vigil at different security vantage points in the camp. After the completion of this training, the operatives were given several rounds of firing practice with AK-47 guns.

... contd.