Senior analyst B Raman on how India should react to 26/11 accused David Headley's testimony in co-accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana's ongoing trial in a Chicago court.
Investigators told rediff.com that more than two people within the Indian Mujahideen provided logistical support to David Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Rana to survey the targets that were attacked during 26/11.
India on Wednesday said it would press for access to Lashkar-e Taiba operative David Headley and his extradition and that his plea bargain with the US authorities is being examined in this context.
The National Investigation Agency will soon file a charge sheet against Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley, a mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
The nine targets struck under 'Operation Sindoor', four in Pakistan and five in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, were chosen by the IAF after receiving intelligence inputs about terror camps operating under the guise of health centres to evade detection at these sites, officials said on Wednesday.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistan-born Canadian national and close associate of David Coleman Headley, is set to be extradited to India from the US. Rana was involved in the planning and execution of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which killed 166 people, including six Americans. He assisted Headley in obtaining a visa for India, established a front company in Mumbai, and helped in reconnaissance of targets in Mumbai and New Delhi. Rana was convicted in the US for providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and sentenced to 14 years in prison. His extradition to India will allow authorities to question him about his involvement in the Mumbai attacks and potentially uncover new information about the role of Pakistani state actors.
A few days back the home ministry announced that it had completed its probe against 26/11 terror accused David Headley. However, there continues to be a slight delay where the filing of the chargesheet is concerned.
United States prosecutors on Tuesday defended a plea agreement with David Headley, co-accused in the Mumbai terror attacks, saying that this helped the Federal Bureau to extract invaluable information from him about Laskar-e-Tayiba and other terrorist outfits and their leaders in Pakistan.
Mumbai terror attack conspirator David Headley, who had surveyed most of the 26/11 targets, had also conducted a recce of Bal Thackeray's heavily-guarded residence `Matoshree' in suburban Bandra in 2008, and found that Shiv Sena chief was a 'sitting duck'.
According to the unsealed documents, following completion of the camps and leadership course, Lashkar assigned a series of 'handlers' to Headley.
The National Investigative Agency on Thursday registered a case against Pakistan-born United States citizen Headley and his aide Canadian-born Tahawwur Hussain Rana, in connection with the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai. Headley and Rana, both suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives, were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from Chicago in late October. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said government agencies are probing both Headley and Rana's terror links.
A day after 26/11 terror accused David Headley described him as an important contact, Shiv Sena member Rajaram Rege on Wednesday said that he had a short interaction with the Pakistani-American and he had told the National Investigation Agency everything about him. Though Headley described Rege as the Shiv Sena's Public Relations Officer, the party has said it does not have any post like that.On his meeting with Headley, Rege said, "It was a two-second interaction".
Pakistan dismissed reports that Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley had linked serving Pakistani army officers to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, saying they were based on "misguided leaks" aimed at maligning the country.
"The difference between the state and non-state actors will come to an end after this statement," Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told reporters.
Dismissing concerns about the plea agreement between the United States government and Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Coleman Headley, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said the deal was not a 'setback' for India's probe into the terror attack on Mumbai. Headley, who was arrested in October last year in Chicago by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has pleaded guilty to charges of planning and helping carry out the attack on Mumbai.
According to the 106-page dossier of the National Investigation Agency, prepared after the detailed questioning of Headley in the US, he had told the Indian investigators that they should not ask him any questions pertaining to his immediate family.
An Indian who used the services of Mumbai-based immigration offices of terror suspects David Headley and Tahawwur Rana has been deported by US authorities to India after his documents were allegedly found to be false. The person (name withheld) hailing from Gujarat arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi early on Thursday morning, airport sources said.
American terror suspect David Headley had also stayed at Oberoi Trident besides the Taj -- the two hotels attacked on 26/11 -- before the Mumbai carnage, reinforcing suspicion of his link with the audacious strike, according to investigators on Friday.
In yet another delaying tactic in the 26/11 Mumbai attack case, Pakistan has sent to India 47 questions regarding additional information on Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley and his activities during his multiple visits to the country.
David Headley, who has confessed to his involvement in the Mumbai attacks, had received four 'jihadi' videos from Lashkar-e-Tayiba's Pasha as part of the terror group's efforts to indoctrinate him.
After much delay and discussions, the interrogation of Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley by a team of the National Investigation Agency has finally come to an end.Sources close to the members of the investigating team told rediff.com that the Pakistani American terror operative proved to be a tough nut to crack.Headley was well prepared to face the NIA team's questions and throughout the interrogations, he stuck to the earlier responses.
Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley's plea bargain, under which he confessed to plotting the Mumbai terror attacks, throws light on close links between the Al Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, according to former Central Intelligence Agency expert Bruce Riedel.Headley's story showed in clear contours the close relationship between Al Qaeda and the Pakistani militant group LeT, Riedel, who led the review of the Obama administration's Af-Pak strategy,said.
Two years after his role in terror activities surfaced, the National Investigation Agency on Saturday chargesheeted Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley, Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed and two Inter-Services Intelligence officers for plotting terror attacks in India including the 26/11 strikes.
American terror suspect David Headley had visited the Osho Ashram located near the German Bakery in Koregaon Park -- where eight people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday -- twice in 2008 and 2009.The area also houses a Jewish prayer house. According to the probe by the National Investigation Agency, Headley had moved to Pune from Goa to conduct a reconnaissance of the area around Koregaon Park.
Interview with C D Sahay, former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, on Headley and terror.
Security has been heightened outside the Patiala House Court in Delhi ahead of the expected appearance of Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Rana, who was extradited from the US, is likely to be produced in court on Thursday. The Delhi Police and paramilitary forces are carrying out thorough security checks to prevent any untoward incidents.
Investigations in the Headley-Rana case have revealed the involvement of a Kerala-based man, who has been part of the immigration business.
Fresh details have emerged about David Headley, who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in October for plotting terror attacks in India, with the United States media reporting that the terror suspect was born to a Pakistani diplomat father and an American mother.At the age of 16, Headley, who was born Daood Gilani, was taken out of Pakistan, where he attended a military school, and brought to Philadelphia by his mother.
A United States court on Wednesday rescheduled the sentencing of Pakistani American LeT terrorist David Headley, accused of involvement in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, from January 17 to January 24, while that of his accomplice Tahawwur Rana has been rescheduled for a second time to January 17.
The United States will consider giving Indian authorities access to David Headley for additional questioning by its investigating agencies about his role in the Mumbai terror attacks, the State Department has said. "In the past, we have given India full access to Headley, and I think that when a case is in litigation it's impossible to do that. But moving forward, I think we would consider further access," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley has told a jury in the Tahawwur Rana trial that Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani attended his father's funeral, but the latter's office rubbished the claim.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been taken into 18-day custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India. Rana was extradited from the United States after years of legal battles and will be questioned to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the attacks.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian national accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been extradited to India from the United States. Rana's interrogation is expected to shed light on the role of Pakistani state actors in the attacks, which claimed 166 lives. Indian authorities are particularly interested in his travels across India in the days leading up to the attacks, including visits to Hapur, Agra, Delhi, Kochi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. Rana's extradition follows a lengthy legal battle, with the US Supreme Court ultimately denying his application to challenge it. Rana is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks. The investigation into the Mumbai attacks has implicated senior members of terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul Jihadi Islami (HuJI), as well as officials from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
India is expected to get access to Lashkar-e Tayiba operative David Headley within 30 days of sending a letter of request, which is being prepared, government indicated in New Delhi on Monday.
A request letter for access to Headley, Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative who has admitted his role in Mumbai attacks, would be sent by Home Ministry next week to the US Department of Justice, official sources said on Friday.
Special Secretary (Internal Secretary) U K Bansal met Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium on Tuesday night and discussed with him about the options available before Indian investigators to question Headley under the plea bargain agreement between him and the American government.
The attorney for suspected LeT operative David Headley charged with criminal conspiracy in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks has said his client is cooperating in the investigation, but declined to comment on "the substance of the allegation" in the charges filed by US prosecutors.
United States State Department spokesman Mark Toner's statement has been an encouraging one for Indian investigating agencies probing the David Headley case.
There has been a huge cover-up of the LeT iceberg in India that helped David Headley and Tahawwur Rana plan the 26/11 terror strike, says B Raman
India may get access for the second time to Mumbai attack terrorist David Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana, currently in the custody of the United States, for questioning. The positive indication was given by Washington to New Delhi during a recent bilateral meeting held in America.
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