Buried on Jan 29 night in over two-hour secret op

The Mumbai Polices secret mission to bury the bodies of the nine Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists killed during 26/11 was meticulously planned....

The Mumbai Polices secret mission to bury the bodies of the nine Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists killed during 26/11 was meticulously planned,with a team of policemen hand-picked for the job and warned of criminal proceedings against them if they even leaked a whiff of the operation.

In fact,sources told The Indian Express that the level of secrecy maintained was so high that even the Intelligence Bureau was apparently kept in the dark about the specifics of the operation until state Home Minister R R Patils stunning disclosure in the Legislative Council on Tuesday.

The entire operation,the sources said,was carried out in the early hours of January 30 and was completed in roughly two-and-a-half hours,with a Muslim policeman reading prayers before the graves were filled.

Although the police had made elaborate plans for the process by late December,clear instructions to dispose the bodies were received only the day before.

Only 40 people,including trusted policemen,were involved in the process. They were warned that any information leaks would attract an inquiry by the State Criminal Investigation Department,and eventually criminal proceedings would be launched against them for promoting enmity among communities through their acts.

The police had already scouted for a secure and isolated location on the outskirts of the city,and request letters had been sent in advance to the Home and Health departments asking for the chosen plot to be officially declared a designated graveyard and the request was immediately approved.

The sources said nine graves were dug at the location 15 days before the burial by private labourers. Police carpenters from different units of the polices Motor Transport MT department in the city were asked to build coffins for unclaimed bodies. Care was taken not to get the nine coffins made in the same MT unit as that could arouse suspicions.

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Two weeks before the chosen date,the police set up bamboo barricades at the entry-points leading to the mortuary in JJ Hospital where the bodies were being kept. Entry was restricted,and these arrangements continued even days after the bodies had been buried. The generally inebriated attendants at the morgue were moved out of the area in advance. Guards posted outside the special room where the bodies were kept,were also shifted to a different location nearby.

The police also took care to ensure that a particular doctor,who they were sure would not leak information,was on duty at the morgue and alone when they arrived to pick up the bodies. At around 3 a.m. on January 30,a team of police officers reached the morgue at JJ Hospital with the nine coffins. Police constables,who even at the time were not aware of the specific nature of the operation,had been directed to reach the chosen location directly and wait there.

The officers at the morgue took custody of the bodies from the lone doctor there,signed the papers involved,lifted the bodies off the trays themselves,placed them in the coffins and nailed their lids shut. The nine bodies were placed in a single police truck and driven to the burial site.