'7/11: Local trains were easy targets'

TNN / Dec 17, 2006, 00:26 IST

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Faisal Shaikh (32), said to be Lashkar-e-Taiba's point man in Mumbai, played a key role in the 7/11 blasts.

NEW DELHI: Faisal Shaikh (32), said to be Lashkar-e-Taiba's point man in Mumbai, played a key role in the 7/11 blasts. Apart from planting the bomb that went off as the train approached Jogeshwari, four of the 11 Pakistanis involved in the blasts stayed at his rented flat at Bandra. In his confession to deputy police commissioner Brijesh Singh, Faisal said he wanted to avenge atrocities on Indian Muslims.
In 2001, when my family was in Pune, I participated in a programme by Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi), where we were shown photos of atrocities on Muslims during the Gujarat riots.After seeing this, I thought of settling in some Islamic country and taking revenge.
Hence, I went to Pakistan in January 2002 and contacted Markaz-Dawa-Wal-Irshad at Lahore, which is connected to the LeT. Here, I met an Indian, Abdul Razzaque, who advised me to go to an LeT arms training centre.
Next day, I reached Karachi where Abu Zubair had come to receive me. I met LeT commander Aarif Kasmani. I told Razzaque I wanted to stay in Pakistan. He told me that I would have to work for LeT and I agreed. I was sent to LeT's Muzaffarbad training camp. At the camp, I also met training in-charge Abu Rizwan who is an expert in operating firearms. During the 40-day Dars-e-Aam training I was trained in operating fire arms and a three-month Dars-e-Khaas training.

At the training camp, many people would come in military's vehicle and some of them had even come in their uniform. The people at the training camp would respect these military officers, who would come to the centre and guide the trainees. Rizwan told me the officers were associated with military and ISI, which was running the camps. At the camp, I met 60-year-old Azam Cheema through Abu Muzammil. Cheema is the head of training centre.

I asked Lashkar chief Abul Rehman that I wanted to work with Azam Cheema. I liked Cheema and his impressive personality. Azam Cheema told me to recruit more Indian boys and send them to Pakistan for training. He gave me Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 for my personal expenses. After my training, I crossed the Wagah border and came to Pune where I started looking out for boys who could be sent for training to Pakistan.
Four months later, Cheema sent me Rs 1.80 lakh through hawala. My Pune friend Sohail Shaikh was ready to go for training and I gave him Rs one lakh for his personal use. In 2003, I went to Saudi Arabia for a job and introduced myself as Mushtaque. I called up Cheema and told him that I wanted to go to Pakistan.
In March 2004, I reached Dubai and later met one Abu Faizal at Abu Dhabi and went to Bahawalpur camp in Pakistan. Cheema gave me a new code name of Ameen. I had sent less number of boys to Pakistan as compared to money given to me by Cheema.
Azam Cheema wanted to do several big subversive activities. When I had to come to India after second visit to Pakistan, Cheema gave me a passport with Mohammed Akhatar's name. After returning to Dubai, I tore my passport and contacted to the Indian embassy which issued an Emergency Certificate and I was deported.
After coming from Pakistan to Mumbai I was in constant touch with Cheema and he instructed me to do something big here. Hence, I surveyed World Trade Centre, stock exchange, Mahalaxmi mandir, Siddhivinayak temple, local railway stations and many shopping malls. I realised that at BSE, temples and World Trade Centre the security was very organised and strict. I liked local train as our target since enough security measures were not taken and all the stations were crowded.

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