Ansari was a small trader who sent, among other things, potatoes and onions to Sri Lanka. After reverses in business, Ansari came in touch with Haji, a Tamil-speaking Muslim from Colombo, who is alleged to have introduced him to Siddiqui in the Pakistan mission in Colombo, and his second in command, Shaji.
After reportedly brainwashing him, Siddiqui roped him to take videos of the Nagapattinam port, the ships that berthed there, the topography and other dimensions as well as Mallipattinam, a traditional landing point.
In a related development, a senior NIA official had visited Malaysia recently to collect information about another Lankan national Mohammed Hussain Mohammed Sulaiman arrested by the Malaysian Special Police in May, official sources said.
They said initial interrogation report of Sulaiman, against whom India secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice, was shared with India which has been focusing on unraveling all the contours of the conspiracy which has been hatched on foreign soil.
An Interpol RCN is not an international arrest warrant per se, but it allows the warrant to be circulated worldwide with the request that the wanted person be arrested with a view to extradition.
47-year-old Sulaiman is wanted in India for allegedly hatching a criminal conspiracy, acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention, possession of forged or counterfeit currency notes, terrorist acts, and raising funds for terrorist acts. He is considered crucial for the probe.
He told Malaysian authorities that he had received instructions to assist two men in the planned attacks on the consulates, the sources said.
According to the plan Sakir Hussain was to conduct recce of the two consulates, while Sulaiman had to facilitate entry of two suicide attackers into India from Maldives, they said.
Hussain had reportedly taken the name of Siddiqui as his alleged handler and also said he had been chosen as he was engaged in human trafficking, making of forged passports and smuggling of fake Indian currency.
The sleuths had recovered pictures of US and Israeli consulates showing various gates and roads leading to the two premises, the sources said, and claimed that these pictures had been mailed to his alleged handlers in Pakistan and its High Commission in Colombo.
