Dehradun (Uttarakhand): The horrific terror attack, which rocked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, is still fresh in the memory of people. Retired Brigadier Govind Sisodia, the commandant of Operation Black Tornado, was one of the officers who had interrogated terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who had been captured alive.
It was because of the bravery of Sisodia's team that Mumbai could be saved.
On the occasion of the 12th anniversary of the '26/11' Mumbai attack, ETV Bharat had an exclusive interview with Sisodia who shared his vivid memory of the fateful day.
Central government called NSG when situation in Mumbai went out of control
Operation Black Tornado's commandant Brigadier Govind Sisodia said the central government called the NSG when the situation in Mumbai began to go out of control. It was then named as Operation Black Tornado. There was pressure on him to complete the operation at the earliest. Having the experience of dealing with terrorist activities, he planned his strategy which was to keep the terrorists confined to a place and continue engaging them so that they come under pressure and commit some mistake.
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There would be no further damage to the general public as the terrorists were already confined to one location. In the engagement, the NSG targeted the terrorists, killing nine of the total ten. One of them, Ajmal Kasab was captured alive.
This is how Ajmal Kasab was interrogated
Brigadier Sisodia disclosed that when he began the interrogation of Ajmal Kasab, he squatted on the floor instead of sitting on a chair in the room. This was part of a strategy as watching the officer sitting on the floor would make him feel comfortable.
Brigadier Sisodia was from the Sikh Regiment of India Army and therefore was fluent in Punjabi. Ajmal Kasab was from the Sindh province of Pakistan and was also comfortable in Punjabi. Hence, the brigadier conducted the interrogation of Ajmal Kasab in Punjabi.
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Terrorists had taken help of Google Earth
Brigadier Sisodia said it is always advantageous to speak to any person in his own language. This makes the person speak comfortably without getting time to think. The interrogation revealed that the terrorists targeted Mumbai because they could reach here easily through the sea and would have had to face difficulties had they come by air or land route. He disclosed that the terrorists took the help of Google Earth in executing their attack.
Kasab was sound in technology despite being only fourth pass
Interestingly, the mastermind of the attack, Ajmal Kasab had studied only upto class four. Despite the above, he was well versed in technology. When Sisodia asked Ajmal Kasab in Punjabi how he had become such an expert though he had only studied up to class four, Kasab referred to the extensive training he had received which had made him master the technology.
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Reply to those who wanted Kasab to be killed on the spot
After Ajmal Kasab was caught alive, many had said the terrorist should have been shot dead like his other colleagues. However, the Brigadier said that would have been a big mistake, and added that the fact that Ajmal Kasab was caught alive was a big victory for India. Kasab was a living proof of Pakistan's nefarious game plan and through him, India could hold Pakistan responsible.
He said, initially Pakistan tried to distance itself from the attack. But after Ajmal Kasab was caught alive and was proved to be a Pakistani citizen, the whole world was compelled to believe that Pakistan is a base of terrorism. Had Ajmal Kasab been shot dead, India could never have proved that whatever had happened in Mumbai on 26/11 was part of the script written in Pakistan.
