RESONANCE (17 page)

Submarine Parts

An agent went
to the Russian submarine maker and took delivery of two of the machines and the manual for reassembly. The first submarine was transported by Rossiya Airlines cargo flight from Pullover Airport, St. Petersburg to Dushanbe in Tajikistan. It was further transported by truck till it reached Wakhan Corridor at the Durand line, touching the northern border of Pakistan. The Pakhtun Tribal Chief of Pakistan had contacts with all the tribal chiefs of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. He made sure that the submarine was transferred safely to its destination in Pakistan.

A few days later, Shalim Amār Khan visited the same person. He got the second submarine knocked-down into four different parts: Hull, Propulsion, remote navigation system and Robotic module. Two parts were booked from St. Petersburg to Kolkata and Goa in India. The other two parts were destined for Kochi and Chennai from Moscow.

All the consignments reached the respective destinations safely. The different bits and pieces were transported from all four places to a small warehouse near Mazagaon dock in Mumbai. A retired marine engineer read the manual and assured Shalim Amār Khan that he could assemble the product within a week's notice.

"What if we want you to assemble it at our location?"

"I'll charge more. However, I need a small workshop in case some component needs refurbishing."

"Done. We'll book your train ticket."

Headley again

David Coleman Headley
was charged with conspiracy to bomb different targets in Mumbai, and of providing support to the LeT. After three months in FBI custody, Headley pleaded guilty and promised to cooperate with the U.S. authorities. He signed a few documents, wherein he accused the LeT and HuJI, Pakistan-based terrorist organizations with links to the al Qaeda of perpetrating the Mumbai attacks. These papers were later submitted in the Chicago court.

The American government shared the information with their Indian counterpart.

A Jihadist, Headley admitted that he had reported to Major Iqbal and Sameer Ali, both serving Pakistani ISI officers. The officers, in turn, were closely associated with Abul al Qama, a dreaded LeT operative. Abu Qahafa and a Lashkar member 'D', who was perhaps Saifullah Muzzamil, were Headley's other links to the underground world of the terrorist-ISI nexus.

Major Iqbal introduced Headley to higher-ups in ISI. One of them was an enigmatic Major Hamza, a major operator. No one could trace Major Hamza, since he had been promoted from the Army to the ISI and the Army promptly listed him as having retired from its cadre role, and removed all his antecedents.

His junior, Major Iqbal provided twenty-five thousand dollars and counterfeit Indian rupees to Headley to start an office, namely 'First World', in Mumbai and also to meet the expenses of his scouting trips to different parts of India. On the streets of Lahore, Major Iqbal imparted training to him about the art of effective and scientific intelligence: how to create sources and when to discard a rogue agent; how to take cover or come out in the open to mix with the crowd; when to work alone and when to involve others. They also trained him in martial arts and unarmed close quarter combat.

Headley accepted that he had started off as a LeT recruit, but drifted towards the al Qaeda. He told the interrogators that he had continued to stay in touch with LeT members after the Mumbai attack. He was told by the ISI that he should never speak about the involvement of any ISI officer. After the attack, he removed all incriminating material from his home in Pakistan at the behest of the ISI.

He also claimed to have made contact with the members of al Qaeda in his two trips to North Pakistan. His most damning account was about an Army officer, who worked with Headley and was very close to Ilyas Kashmiri, number three in the al Qaeda hierarchy. The Mumbai attacks were financed and supported by ISI. ISI officials handled every important LeT member. ISI was also close to al Qaeda.

The ISI-LeT-al Qaeda nexus now lay exposed before the world.

Headley further stated that he had undertaken multiple trips to India before and after the Mumbai attack. He had also visited a hill station in the Himalayas, the National Defence College in Delhi, and Chabad Houses in many cities of India for carrying out surveillance needed for future attacks.

He claimed that a top LeT commander recruited Ishrat Jahan as a
fidayeen
to assassinate the Chief Minister of Gujarat. However, the Gujarat police gunned her down.

A few months later, a bomb was detonated in a popular German Bakery, near a Chabad House in Pune, a city close to Mumbai. The explosion in one of the most cosmopolitan and upmarket areas of Pune left many dead and several severely injured.

Siddhartha analyzed each fact minutely. A few patterns seemed to emerge. The LeT was trying to attack high profile targets. They were choosing places, which drew maximum media attention. They wanted to kill the Chief Minister of an important state. Mumbai and Gujarat seemed to be interconnected. al Qaeda seemed to be the new link, but without much substantial evidence, Siddhartha could not go further. He tried to find an answer to the Tupac-II puzzle, using information from these new revelations.

Crest Telefilms

Shalim Amār Khan
visited the owner of CTEL, Crest Telefilms Entertainment Ltd in Mumbai a few times to oversee the progress of the television documentary script. Each time he watched the film, he rejected it, pointing out some defect in the frames or sound. He wanted everything to be perfect.

After a long ordeal of more than a year, Shalim Amār Khan finally approved it. The assured payment was made to the owner of CTEL and the film changed hands.

Back in Dubai, one evening Shalim Amār Khan sat on his Mac Pro and checked the uncompressed wave files of a presenter describing a Megaflood. He noted intently every detail: the reporters giving their accounts of the flood from different locations, the sound of gurgling water, the cries of people and the aftermath of the destruction. He spent ten days mixing the files on the blank soundtrack, to finally create the finished product.

The first two minutes consisted of a video of Shalim Amār Khan's voice and a motion picture in which he emerged in the backdrop of a beautiful lake. When the camera panned and zoomed in, the background image dissolved and viewers could only see the probing eyes and the steady head of Shalim Amār Khan, and hear the resonant voice in which he spoke. Then with a slight tilt of head, he spoke in a very polite voice, "
Aadab,
Mr. Prime Minister and the honourable members …"

However, this documentary had to wait, till the final moment arrived. Some more tweaking and cleaning was required. He improved the final product several times and smothered out every single rise and fall in the amplitude of the sound, trimmed all unwanted video frames and synchronized the video with the audio many times over.

When he finally ran the video file, he was sure that no one in this world could say that it was not a prerelease of a live commentary.

Garudeshwar

Siddhartha got a
call from the Mumbai Intelligence Bureau, "Sir, a month back, we got information from the Department of Customs in Mumbai about an unclaimed consignment from Port Said, Egypt. The product description was 'Plastic material for manufacturing undergarments'. The Customs Appraiser officer became suspicious and he called the Mumbai police to examine it. After verification, the explosives experts were also called in. They found that it was a plastic explosive."

"What kind of plastic explosive?"

"Semtex."

"Any detection signature?"

"None. It has no taggant agent."

"What variant is it?"

"1A."

"Oh! This variant has a wide temperature range, is malleable and can be used in any condition: from land to water,"After a pause, Siddhartha asked," Where was the consignment bound for?"

"A shop in Garudeshwar in Gujarat."

"Where is Garudeshwar?"

"A few miles west of the Sardar Sarovar Dam."

"Did you make an enquiry at the shop?"

"There is no such shop at the intended place."

"Any enquiry in Egypt?"

"We contacted Mukhabarat, the Egyptian counter terrorism intelligence service. They tried their best, but could not find anything."

"How much is the semtex?"

"Five hundred kilograms."

"Oh God! It's sufficient to bring down an entire neighbourhood."

"Yes, sir."

"However, what is interesting is where the product was bound for."

"But Garudeshwar is a very small and peaceful village. As per our local intelligence, there is nothing in the town that can suggest any link to terror."

"Not Garudeshwar. The target is Sardar Sarovar Dam!"

Trichi Mir

An al Qaeda
agent reached the film studio in the timber market, Ravi Road, Lahore. The master-mixer was waiting for him. He powered on his old projector and ran the film. The agent nodded, as it was absolutely flawless. The master-mixer had also made a DVD of the film. The agent grabbed both and presented a basket of mangoes to the master-mixer.

The agent came out of the timber market and turned his Toyota right. As soon as he reached the iconic Minar-e-Pakistan, a big blast from behind attracted the attention of many people sitting in the park. The agent ignored the sound, took a U-turn, crossed the Ravi Bridge and sped on to the Grand Trunk Road.

It took him eighteen-hours to reach his destination. He stopped his SUV in the backdrop of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the mighty Hindukush Range.

Another vehicle was waiting for him. Two men from al Qaeda approached the agent. They took the packet from him and quickly turned around. They casually tossed the packets onto the backseat, and the driver rolled forward the engine. Their white vehicle melted and merged into the distant snow.

Kerala Connection

The Indian cell phone
number tagged with the mysterious number 0321-5023113 had been kept in the powered 'off' mode ever since the IB sleuth had started hunting down details from other intelligence agencies like R&AW, CBI, Military Intelligence and the State government CID.

Like hunting hounds, Siddhartha's men were after the identity of the cell phone owner. One of the officers visited Siddhartha's office. "Sir, we have finally found the owner of this cell phone."

"Who is it?"Siddhartha seemed to be relieved as a vital link to Tupac-II and the Indian connection was about to unveil itself.

"It was provided to the Home Department of Kerala. They in turn handed it over to the Assistant Director of the Kerala Crime Branch. But he was killed in a Maoist attack a few years back."

"But how come the phone was still in use until very recently?"

"That is the mystery. I enquired from his family. They say that when his body was brought home, there was nothing missing except for the cell phone."

"Was it taken by the Maoists?"

"Highly doubtful. The policemen, who accompanied the officer on the day of the encounter, say that the Maoists never came close to the officer. As soon as a bullet hit him, the policemen rescued him, immediately picked up his body and rushed to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, the officer died on his way to the hospital."

"Did you check the records with the Kerala Police?"

"Yes, sir. They say that all records were transferred to the CBI by the order of Kerala High Court."

"How did the High Court come into the picture?"

"His family approached the court since they doubted the circumstances under which he was killed."

"Did you confirm with the CBI?"

"Yes. The CBI closed the matter after making a thorough inquiry. They filed their report before the High Court, which approved the closure of the case."

"What about the cell phone?"

"The CBI says they are not aware of its existence."

"Who says so?"

"Sundaram Iyer."

"Oh! The Joint Director of the CBI. But he is presently posted in Delhi."

"True, sir. But he is a Kerala Cadre IPS officer and is on deputation to the CBI. He held the post of the DIG in the Anti-Corruption Bureau at Kochi at the time when the Maoists gunned down the officer. On promotion as Joint Director, he joined the Delhi office."

"Thanks."

When the officer had left, Siddhartha picked up his phone and connected to the special unit of the IB, "I want all the previous call records of Sundaram Iyer. Put all his phones under tap. "

"But sir, he is the Joint Director of CBI."

"I'm aware of that. I'll seek the mandatory permission from the department. And I want you to be very cautious, since the CBI has an advanced system, which enables them to override their call monitoring."

"Not better than ours, sir. We can break every firewall and all voice-data. I know Mr. Iyer uses Gold Lock encryption. Certified by the Israeli Ministry of Defense by licence # 15252, this technology is presently used by top-class Military Special Forces. However, I will do the job."

"Good. Let me know immediately if you find anything suspicious."Siddhartha hung up.

He called his two agents, "I want both of you to shadow a person, day and night."

"We need to complete our previous work, sir. It will take another two days to complete the report. Should we start shadowing this fellow after two days?"

"Forget everything. I want you on this job immediately."