 Ansari had initially planned on renting an accommodation in Colaba, but due to the high rent there, decided to settle at Grant Road.The Mumbai police alleged that Ansari did a reconnaissance of several prominent Mumbai landmarks, including the Mumbai Stock Exchange, the Mumbai police headquarters at Crawford Market, the Maharashtra police headquarters at Colaba, the Mahalakshmi Temple and the Siddhivinayak temple.Ansari went to the Taj Hotel and Oberoi Trident as a tourist and shot video footage of the interiors.