Could the Holtzbergs have been saved?

An Indian professor in New York City claims that he negotiated with the killers of Chabad emissaries to Mumbai Rabbi and Mrs. Gavriel Holtzberg - and that there was a chance to save them. This was around midnight, and when I got on the line I heard a low male voice. Following Shemtov’s promptings, I asked the person where he was. “You know where I am speaking from,” he said. (I did not take notes