Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said he was scheduled to have stayed at Mumbai Taj on 26/11 but “moved to another hotel at the last minute due to a change in plans”
Assam CM Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that he was scheduled to have stayed at the Taj when terrorists attacked Mumbai on 26/11 but moved to another hotel at the last minute due to a change in plans.
Chief Minister Dr Sarma said the “horror of that night” has stayed with me forever and that he “vividly remember watching the NSG operation unfold” and felt “karma will one day catch up with the masterminds” of the dastardly attack.
Chief Minister Dr Sarma said the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, one of the plotters of the Mumbai terror attacks, following the “decisive leadership” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will force ” those plotting against India” to “think twice before daring to strike”.
“On the night of 26/11, I was in Mumbai and scheduled to stay at the Taj. But as destiny would have it, I moved to another hotel at the last minute due to a change in plans.
The horror of that night, however, has stayed with me forever. I vividly remember watching the NSG operation unfold and a single thought kept echoing in my mind ~ karma will one day catch up with the masterminds of this attack.
Sixteen years later, seeing Tahawwur Rana back on Indian soil brings not just a sense of closure, but also renewed confidence. With decisive leadership at the helm, those plotting against India will think twice before daring to strike,” Chief Minister Dr Sarma stated in a post on his social media accounts.
The Mumbai Terror Attacks Timeline
The 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, also known as 26/11, were carried out by ten gunmen who were members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist organization.
Here’s a breakdown of the key people and groups involved:
The Attackers (On-Ground Operatives)
10 Pakistani nationals, trained by Lashkar-e-Taiba, infiltrated Mumbai via sea.
They split into groups and attacked multiple high-profile targets across Mumbai including:
1. Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
2. Oberoi-Trident Hotel
3. Leopold Café
4. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station
5. Nariman House (a Jewish center)
Only one attacker survived:
Ajmal Kasab – captured alive at CST, later tried and executed by India in 2012.
The Masterminds and Handlers
1.Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi – Military chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and a key planner of the attacks.
2.Hafiz Saeed – Founder of LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawa who provided ideological and logistical support for the attacks.
3.David Headley (Daood Gilani) – An American of Pakistani origin who scouted locations for LeT prior to the attack.
4.Tahawwur Rana – A Pakistani-born Canadian-American helped David Headley scout locations in India and provided cover for his activities ahead of 26/11.
5.Zarar Shah – Communications coordinator who directed the attackers remotely from Pakistan.
Remote Coordination
Attackers received real-time instructions via phone and internet from their handlers in Pakistan. These calls were intercepted and later used as evidence by Indian and international intelligence agencies.
