Qasab and Ismail had plans to target Raj Bhavan: Prosecutor

The lone surviving gunman Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab and slain Lashkar-e-Toiba operative Ismail Khan had planned to strike Raj Bhavan but could not succeed as they were overpowered by police at Chowpatty enroute to Malabar Hill, the prosecution said on Monday.

A map which showed locations such as Chowpatty, Malabar Hill and Raj Bhavan was recovered from Ismail's pocket, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told a special court.

This was the same map allegedly made by arrested accused Faheem Ansari for the conspirators. The map was given to a handwriting expert who said it was prepared by Faheem, the prosecutor said.

Only Ismail alias Ismail Abu knew the target at Malabar hill and had told Qasab that he would reveal it when they reached there.

Both had stolen a Skoda car and were driving towards Malabar hill when an encounter broke out with police at Chowpatty.

Ismail was killed and Qasab was captured alive, Nikam said.

Although Qasab's confession does not talk about their plans to strike Raj Bhavan, the place was marked prominently in brackets on the map seized from Ismail's pocket after he was killed. This indicated that Raj Bhavan was a potential target, Nikam told judge M L Tahilyani.