Rahul Tripathi/TNN
New Delhi, Dec 4: Terrorists who carried out the Mumbai attacks were shown video footage of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and VHP's Praveen Togadia "spitting venom" against jihad and Pakistan as motivational tools, arrested terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasav has told his interrogators.
Ajmal's interrogation report says the terrorists were also shown footage of the "Gujarat carnage and atrocities on Muslims" in India to rouse religious indignation.
Ajmal's interrogators said he had received rigorous training and had been primed for fidayeen attacks. He and others in the training camps were subjected to severe beatings by their trainers to develop resistance against any kind of interrogation.
Ajmal also revealed the names of nine other terrorists who carried out the Mumbai attacks and were killed in various places. "The nine names revealed by Ajmal reflects that the youngest fidayeen was 20 years old while the eldest was 28.
They were identified by Ajmal as Soheb (20), Chota Abdul Rahman (21), Umar (22), Abu Ali (23), Fahadullah (24), Ismail Khan (25), Bada Abdul Rahman (25), Abu Akasha (26), Umair (28). Fahadullah was crippled in one hand," a cop who interrogated Ajmal said.
The terror group which attacked Mumbai was imparted training at various camps and in different groups. Before assembling near Karachi, the 10 terrorists had never met each other, Ajmal claimed. They met for the first time in September.
Ajmal said Lashkar's Zakiur Rahman alias Chachu was their mentor but several others were involved in imparting training at various stages. He named some of them as Mufti Sayeed, Fahadullah, Ustad Abdul Rahman and Abu Anus who gave them maritime training and taught use of weapons and grenades.
Investigators said that of those named by Ajmal as tutors, many had retired from Pakistan Army and were imparting training at Lashkar camps in coordination with ISI.
The terrorists had to undergo a long and rigorous training schedule before heading for Mumbai. Ajmal said their first training session had started in December last year. He told interrogation that their training was intensified after the assassination of PPP leader Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi on December 27.