26 November,2020 04:36 PM IST | Mumbai | IANS
Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. File pic
Twelve years after the Mumbai terror attacks in which 166 people were killed and over 300 wounded, one of the key conspirators along with David Coleman Headley and Tawahhur Hussain Rana, is still missing.
A Pakistani national from Lahore, Sajid Mir, who went by several aliases -- Ibrahim, Wasi, Khalid, Vashi, Vashibhai, Bhai Ali, Ali Bhai, Moosa Bhai, Wasi Bhai, Wasi Ibrahim, Sajid Majeed, Sajjid Mir, Bhai Moosa, Ibrahim Shah -- was one of the key planners of the 26/11 attacks in which six Americans were also killed.
The US Department of State has put a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Sajid Mir.
On November 26, a Lashkar-e-Taiba suicide squad of 10 Pakistani nationals stealthily crept into Mumbai via sea link, and carried out a dozen coordinated terror attacks on hotels, cafes and a train station.
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Sajid Mir is listed as FBI's 'Most Wanted Terrorist' in the US and flagged as "armed", "dangerous" and an "international escape risk".
Mir, according to the FBI files, "served as the chief planner of the attacks, directing preparations and reconnaissance, and was one of the Pakistan-based controllers during the attacks".
Apart from his role in the Mumbai terror attacks, he was also part of the terror plot that David Headley, Tawahhur Rana were involved in, against the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The newspaper had published 12 cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in 2005, leading to protests including violence by Muslims world wide.
Headley, Rana and Mir had planned a terror attack against the employees of the newspapers in Denmark between 2008 and 2009.
Mir was indicted in the US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Chicago, Illinois, on April 21, 2011 and an arrest warrant against him was issued the next day, as per the FBI records.
He was charged with conspiracy to injure property of foreign government; providing material support to terrorists; killing a citizen outside of the US and aiding and abetting; and bombing of places of public use.
In his forties, Mir is short in height and has skin discoloration on his face and a scar on his left check and right eye, as per the FBI record.
"Mir once wore a beard and hair down to his shoulders. He may have altered his appearance through plastic surgery," the FBI has noted in its file and suspects that Mir is hiding in Pakistan.
Despite India's persistent efforts and requests for cooperation from the Pakistani establishment into the case, Islamabad has been evasive. Except for a few terrorists who were arrested in Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and all the key members of the terror plot have gone scot-free.
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