26/11 terrorists had come from Karachi: FBI

In a crucial testimony, the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday told a special court trying the Mumbai terror attack case that Global Positioning System devices used by terrorists had indicated that they had come from Karachi.

Deposing in person before Judge M L Tahaliyani, a forensic expert of the United States' FBI, whose identity has been kept secret, said that he had examined five GPS devices and a satellite phone which Mumbai police had recovered from the terrorists.

The forensic expert said that "Way Point" retrieved from the GPS devices reflected the route from Karachi to Mumbai and also positions between these two cities.

The witness said that out of the five GPSes, two were not functioning because the battery was depleted and hence the data could not be retrieved from them.

The other three GPS devices had clearly showed the route between these two cities.

The witness gave hard and soft copies of the data report submitted by him to the Mumbai police earlier.

The expert said he had examined these devices on February 11 and completed the examination by February 18. He said Mumbai police had sent the devices in the sealed cover to the FBI.

GPS device automatically record the return trip, the witness said.

Ajmal Kasab, the only Pakistani terrorist arrested during the November attacks, sat smiling all the while during the deposition.

Image: Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab firing at people at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Photographs: Kind Courtesy: Sebastian D'Souza/Mumbai Mirror