I finally got around to watching HBO’s documentary Terror in Mumbai, which originally aired in November 2009.
Narrated by Fareed Zakaria, whose mother and sister apparently still live in Mumbai, this documentary was pieced together from almost intercepted cell phone conversations between the terrorists and their handlers and security camera footage from the target locations on one side and the victims, eyewitnesses and Indian authorities on the other. The documentary starts off with eyewitness accounts describing the landing of the terrorists and their initial assault on the Leopold cafe, an attack which left 11 dead and dozens wounded. Then unfolds the carnage at the railway station (CST) led by Ajmal Kasab, where they plow into unsuspecting commuters. This attack is the beginning of what would be a complete breakdown in law enforcement in Mumbai. The police constables on the scene, armed with lathis (batons) and World War II-era bolt action rifles are no match for the AK-47s and either flee the scene or get mowed down by the terrorists, some of it caught on security footage. At one point, a hapless constable throws a chair in the general vicinity of the gunmen, to no avail.
Meanwhile, previously planted bombs in taxis, which by now traveled across the town, explode, adding to mayhem. The sheer number of attacks, lack of training, lack of information and communication among authorities and widespread rumors, give the impression of a city-wide terrorist attack.
Grasping at thin air, the authorities start scanning cell phone frequencies including ones belonging to SIM cards Indian intelligence has placed among LeT operatives and discover 3 of them still operating. It’s these intercepted cell phone conversations that form the basis of this documentary. The conversations occur among the terrorists and their handler, one “Brother Wasi” through an Internet phone numbers bought from a company in NJ.
As the carnage at CST winds down, the gunmen enter the Trident Oberoi and Taj hotels and start killing unsuspecting patrons at the behest of “Brother Wasi”, the carnage is captured in the cell phone conversations and the network of security cameras at these two locations. “Brother Wasi” can be heard goading them on to lob grenades indiscriminately and start fires. Meanwhile, the gunmen, hailing from small villages in Pakistan are taken aback at the opulence of the Taj and can be heard hesitating but ultimately relent. One of the iconic moments of the Mumbai attacks, that of the Taj burning (pictured below), was a well calculated move to garner international attention for the LeT, as revealed by the intercepted phone conversations. When this particular image was telecast on the international news channels, the handler is besides himself with joy and showers compliments on the gunmen.
From that point the carnage continues, among guests trapped in these 5 star hotels and on the streets. In one of the eyewitness accounts, a high ranking police official admits to being afraid that the gunmen would attack the police headquarters. Another eyewitness recalls the harrowing ordeal of having to give birth to her baby with the gunmen roaming the halls of The Cama & Albless Hospital.
All the while the footage is interspersed with the confession given by Ajmal Kasab from his hospital bed. Kasab’s tale of recruitment is an eye-opening insight into how easy it is to recruit terrorists in rural Pakistan. By his own accounts, Ajmal admits to being sold to the local LeT recruiter by his own father for a couple of hundred thousand rupees, who then brainwash him into a jihadist.
After shooting up the hospital, Ajmal and his fellow gunman commandeer a vehicle by killing its occupants, among them team members of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad led by Police chief Hemant Karkare. The eyewitness account is given by a constable who was wounded but survived by hiding among his dead colleagues, Ultimately Ajmal and fellow gunman Khan run into a roadblock, captured on security camera, which ends in Ajmal being captured.
Meanwhile, two gunmen take over the Nariman house. “Killing a jew is worth more than killing 50 hotel guests” the controller is heard urging the gunmen. After killing the rabbi and his wife, the gunmen take hostages and then are instructed by the controller to leverage them to secure Ajmal’s release. Meanwhile, the slain couple’s surviving child is rescued by the nanny. As the confrontation progresses, the controller goes from encouraging the gunmen to preparing them for their “martyrdom”. Meanwhile, back at the Oberoi, as the final gunman prepares for his final confrontation with security forces, the controller tells him to leave the phone on and we can hear the bullets and explosions as the security forces successfully take out this gunman. In a similar manner, back at the Nariman house, the controller has the gunmen execute the hostages over a live phone connection. The tired gunmen waffle for a while and then comply before they are cut down by security forces. The gunmen at the Taj meet a similar end.
Huffington Post had an interesting excerpt on filmmaker Dan Reed, who made this documentary: [HuffPo]
Filmmaker Dan Reed has covered similar ground before — his 2003 film Terror in Moscow looked at the hostage situation in a Russian theatre and the subsequent botched rescue by Russian authorities. However, with the Mumbai attacks Reed has an incredible arsenal of footage and recordings at his disposal — including hours of phone calls made between the young men committing the attacks and their older leaders, including spokesman “Brother Wasi”, in Pakistan.
Dan Reed also has an extensive interview on the HBO website, where he talks about the relationships he had to cultivate to obtain the security tapes and taped phone conversations. Reed goes on to draw parallels between this incident and 9/11 and laments the subsequent weak protests against the abject failure of law and order during the attacks.
“Terror in Mumbai”’s view into the events of those fateful days is quite unique and a far cry from the “chicken with head cut off” approach by the Indian media and “we don’t know our elbow from our kundis when it comes to India” approach by the western media. Definitely worth a dekko.
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