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Headley's cross-examination in Mumbai court from Tuesday

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IANS Mumbai

Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist turned approver David Coleman Headley's cross-examination will be conducted in a Mumbai special court from Tuesday, an official said on Monday.

The Pakistani-American's cross-examination will be done for four days by Abdul Wahab Khan, lawyer of Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, who is facing trial in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case.

Headley, 56, has already confessed to having done substantial groundwork, intelligence gathering and providing other inputs to his handlers in Pakistan ahead of the terror strikes in Mumbai beginning on November 26, 2008, which killed 166 people and left over 600 injured.

His examination-in-chief was done by Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam between February 8 and 13 after Headley agreed to turn approver in return for a pardon by the Indian authorities.

 

The proceedings were conducted before Additional Sesssions Judge G.A. Sanap via videoconferencing from a jail in the US where Headley is held for a 35-year sentence.

Nikam has already said that, if required, the prosecution may re-examine Headley at a later stage after the cross-examination.

Headley, convicted in the US for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and the Denmark attacks plots, is currently serving a 35-year sentence in a US jail.

During his marathon deposition before the Special Court last month, he admitted to his links with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda and other terror groups, the role of various state and non-state actors, conducting seven spying missions in Mumbai prior to the 26/11 attacks, besides divulging other sensational information to his handlers in Pakistan.

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First Published: Mar 21 2016 | 6:00 PM IST

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