Mumbai bombers 'took cocaine and LSD' before carrying out attacks

Mumbai bombers 'took cocaine and LSD' before carrying out attacks


By Nikhita Mahajan and Chris Hughes 2/12/2008


Terrorist Azam Ameer Qasab lies dazed after his capture (Pic:Getty)

The Mumbai terrorists may have pumped themselves full of drugs to keep going during their murderous three-day rampage.

Indian police sources say tests on the bodies of dead Islamic fanatics revealed traces of stimulant drugs.

One said: “We found injections containing traces of cocaine and LSD left behind by the terrorists and later found drugs in their blood.

“There was also evidence of steroids, which isn’t uncommon in terrorists. These men were all toned, suggesting they had been doing some heavy training for the attacks.

“This explains why they managed to battle the commandos for over 50 hours with no food or sleep.”

The source said one gunman is thought to have injected himself with large doses of stimulant so he could keep on fighting after he was seriously wounded.

Indian newspapers yesterday carried a dramatic picture of the sole surviving terrorist hooked up to a life support machine.

Azam Amir Kasav, 21, is shown lying on his back with his eyes open, seemingly dazed. It is not known when or where the picture was taken. Kasav was yesterday thought to be in a secure location.

Initial reports suggested Kasav had been shot in the hand after he and fellow assassin Abu Ismail fired machine guns and hurled grenades in the busy Chhatrapati Shivaji rail terminus, killing dozens of people.

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But an Indian TV station has released footage showing Kasav being lynched by a mob on Wednesday after his getaway vehicle was stopped at a roadblock.

It shows police firing at the white Skoda, unleashing a volley of bullets that kill Ismail. Kasav then stumbles from the car and appears to play dead as the police beat him repeatedly with riot batons.

A mob then joins in the attack on Kasav, who has curled into a ball.

Finally a senior police officer steps in to stop the attack. Some reports say Kasav pleaded with medical staff to save him, saying: “I don’t want to die.” Other reports say incensed police were at first unwilling to allow him medical treatment after he told them his aim had been “to kill until the last breath.”

Kasav is said to have told interrogators the attack was meticulously planned six months ago at a training camp in Pakistan. Yesterday the death toll was given as 172 killed, with 239 people wounded.

But it emerged the toll would have been much greater had three bombs placed by the fanatics not been made safe.

The devices, timed to go off a few hours after the terrorists struck, were placed around the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels. They were dealt with by an Indian bomb disposal team.

The terrorists, said to be 10 young men aged from their late teens to mid-20s, were all allegedly from Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a Pakistan-based group.

A Muslim graveyard in Mumbai yesterday said it will not bury the nine dead gunmen. Spokesman Hanif Nalkhande said: “They are not Muslims. Islam does not permit this sort of barbaric crime.”
The alleged involvement of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba has escalated tensions between India and Pakistan.

It had been previously claimed the group was secretly set up by Pakistan intelligence to fight Indian troops in the disputed region of Kashmir.

India’s foreign ministry denied a report that it was preparing to end a five-year ceasefire with Pakistan.