The US government has filed a second chargesheet in a Chicago court in the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai naming five people as accused in the case of “conspiracy to maim, murder and bomb places of public use in India”.
The chargesheet filed in the US court, according to media reports on Monday, named the five accused as: Sajid Majeed, Abu Qahafa, Mazhar Iqbal, Major Iqbal and a Lashkar-e-Toiba member known as D.
The accused were named in the Tahawwur Rana case. Rana is a Pakistani Canadian and like Pakistani American David Coleman Headley is involved in the Mumbai attack.
The Chicago trial of the 2008 Mumbai attacks will be held from the 16th of this month. The federal prosecutors in USA indicted some more suspects last week in this case.
According to Indian government, Sajid Majeed, one of the chargesheeted accused, is a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Commander and heads the LeT?s ?India set up?. He was the key planner of Mumbai terror attacks.
He was the LeT?s main handler of David Coleman Headley and provided financial?and logistic support to him for conducting surveillance of the targets for the Mumbai attacks.
He was personally involved in the training and briefing of all the 10 terrorists who?carried out the Mumbai attacks.
India says Sajid Majeed was most probably present in the Lashkar control room in Karachi?during 26/11 and the Government of India has asked for his voice samples from Pakistan.
India has asked for voice samples of three other accused named in the chargesheet too.
India says Abu Qahafa mentioned in the chargesheet is a senior LeT trainer and an expert in handling arms and explosives who is one of the main conspirators of the Mumbai terror attacks.
He is an absconding accused in the Mumbai terror attack case. He was closely involved in providing physical and technical training to the 10 terrorists who carried out the Mumbai attacks.
He imparted training in GPS handling and map reading to the attackers.
Abu Alqama in the chargesheet is a senior LeT Commander who was in charge of the Kashmir set up till 2008.
He was involved in training and briefing of all the 10 terrorists who carried out the Mumbai terror attacks.
He was present in Karachi when the attackers left the shores of Pakistan for Mumbai.
Lashkar member D is believed to be the overall operational commander of LeT. (After the arrest of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi).
He is one of the important conspirators of the Mumbai attacks and is an absconding accused in the case.
Major Iqbal, another accused chargesheeted, is suspected to be a Pakistan ISI officer who was posted in Lahore during 2007 and 2008.
Major Iqbal was handling David Coleman Headley on behalf of ISI for the Mumbai terror attacks.
He provided funds ($25,000) and FICN to David Coleman Headley for meeting his expenses during the surveillance operations in India.
David Headley used to give all the surveillance videos first to Major Iqbal and then to the LeT.
All accused were charged, on Monday in the district court in Chicago though none of them is in custody of the US government.
US paper Chicago Tribune said Tahawwur Hussain Rana is alleged to have provided a cover for the scout (Headley) “who checked out locations for the deadly rampage and acted as a messenger for the Pakistani terrorist group allegedly behind the 2008 attack.”
The 2008 Mumbai attacks across India’s financial nerve centre in 10 coordinated shooting and bombing strikes in luxury hotels, railway station, hospital and a Jewish house by Pakistan-based terrorists killed 164 people and wounded over 300.