'Better intelligence could have altered 26/11 opn'

New Delhi, Nov 22: The 60-hour-long operation against terrorists during the Mumbai attack in 2008 could have been handled with better intelligence, the chief of the anti-terror force said.

Dutt, then the chief of National Security Guard (NSG) said, "Till the last moments of the three-day operation the NSG did not have any concrete intelligence on the number of men holed up in each of the premises or even initially that the hotels had more than one building."

When asked whether this operation could have been faster or could have been handled in a different way, Dutt said, "Yes, I believe so. If we had certain type of equipment which is now available in the market, it would definitely had been useful."

"These terrorists were heavily trained. They had top physical fitness. It was clear in their mind what their objective was and what they wanted to do. And the way they moved around also showed that they were quiet familiar with the place. "

He further said lack of a proper hotel map was also a hindrance. On the other hand, the terrorists knew the inside of the hotel so well that they did not enter any room which had just one door for entry or exit.

Dutt said the terrorists were heavily armed and had enough arms and ammunition with them to last for two more days.

"The amount of training that went into it, the amount of funding which must have gone into it. This is not something which would be done by a very small group. It was planned in a big way. Persons have probably been handpicked for this operation and then they had come," he added

OneIndia News