Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley today told a special court here that young college girl Ishrat Jahan--who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in 2004 in Gujarat--was an operative of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT)
Testifying via video-link from the US, Headley picked up the name of the 19-year-old Mumbra girl when quizzed by Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam about a "botched-up operation" mentioned to him (Headley) by LeT commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi.
Headley told the court that Lakhvi had mentioned to him about a "botched-up operation" conducted in India by another LeT operative Muzammil Butt where a female member of the terror outfit was killed.
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Prodded for details about the operation, Headley said," "There was a female wing in LeT which was headed by one Abu Aiman's mother. Zaki sahab(Zaki-Ur-Rehman) told me about Butt's botched up operation in India. It was some shootout with the police.
I don't know which part in India. But there was one female who was killed in the shootout. I think she was an Indian national and not a Pakistani but was a LeT operative," he said.
The prosecutor then put up three names of which Headley picked up Ishrat Jahan.
Four persons--Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Joha--were killed in an encounter with Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.
The Ahmedabad city crime branch had then claimed that those killed in the encounter were LeT terrorists and had landed in Gujarat to kill the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The CBI, which took over probe from the Gujarat High Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), had filed a charge sheet in August 2013 saying that the encounter was fake and executed in the joint operation by the city crime branch and Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB).
In further disclosures, 55-year-old Headley, who recently turned approver in the 26/11 case, said LeT had planned attacks on the famous Akshardham temple in Ahmedabad to avenge the Babri Masjid demolition and that terror handler Abu Kahfa was in continuous touch with 10 of his members, sent to Mumbai to launch the 26/11 attack, from a control room in Karachi.
Headley also told the court how ISI and LeT majorly funded terror operations in India and financed him from time to time and that Pakistan native Tahawwur Rana visited Mumbai before the terror strikes in November 2008, which left 166 people dead and 309 injured.
Headley, testifying via video-link in the November, 2008
attack case, told the court that he had heard that Muzammil Butt had planned an attack on Akshardham temple in Gujarat.
"When I asked Muzammil about this, he said that since Indians demolished Babri Masjid (in 1992), it was justified for us to attack Indian temples also," he told the court here.
Headley also told the court that that Muzammil Butt was the head of his (Headley's) group before Sajid Mir.
He told the court that a person, whom he identified as Abu Dujuna introduced him to Muzammil.
Headley said that he and Muzammil had once visited Kashmir to fight against Indian troops.
The LeT operative-turned approver in the case, said that Abu Kahfa, who was also was part of the training programme before the brazen Mumbai seige, was in continous touch with the 10 terrorists who had sneaked into the city and held it to ransom for over three days.
"Along with Sajid Mir, Kahfa was talking to the ten terrorists from a control room in Karachi and was giving them instructions. Kahfa's nephew was one of the ten boys who had come to India," Headley told the court.
He further said that after the 2008 terror strikes, he met Sajid Mir in Rawalpindi where "he (Mir) told me that he was very happy with the attacks. "Even I felt very happy."
The 55-year-old convict, who had visited Mumbai seven times to scout for targets before the attacks, also told the court that he knew Haji Ashraf, a businessman in Lahore who was in-charge of the finance wing of LeT.
He also said that he knew Al-Qaeda's Ilyas Kashmiri and had met him once.
The LeT operative also said that RBI had turned down his request to open a bank account for their office in India.
Giving details of his funding, Headley said "before coming to India in September 2006, he received USD 25,000 from ISI's Major Iqbal."
"I also got 40,000 in Pakistani currency from LeT operative Sajid Mir between April and June 2008," he told the court, adding that Major Iqbal used to regularly send him money in instalments.
(Reopen DEL53)
Also, Major Iqbal gave me counterfeit Indian currency
once or twice in 2008, he said.
Besides Abdul Rehman Pasha, also from ISI, gave me Rs 80,000, Headley said.
"Tahawur Rana (Headley's associate and a Pakistani native who operated a Chicago-based immigration business) used to send me money from the US in September 2006 when I came to India to do intelligence work on instructions of LeT," he told the court.
He also said that "it was my idea to open an office in India. It was a part of my cover (as an immigration consultant). I had discussed about this with Major Iqbal and Sajid Mir and they both agreed to it."
"I also told Rana that Major Iqbal had asked me to do intelligence work in India. Iqbal told me that if Rana was reluctant to be associated with this (Headley's India operations) then he (Headley) should appeal to his (Rana's) sense of patriotism towards Pakistan," he testified.
"But Rana was not reluctant and he agreed readily for me to go to India," Headley said.
Headley also said that Rana had visited Mumbai before the terror attacks.
"I advised Rana to leave India before the attacks as I was afraid that he would be in danger," he told the court.
Headley also disclosed that Rana had asked Raymond Sanders (who ran an immigrant law centre in Chicago) to submit an application to RBI to open a bank account for their office in India.
The deposition of Headley, who is currently serving 35-year prison sentence in US for his role in the terror attacks, could not take place yesterday due to a technical snag in the video conference in the US.
Headley has committed the offences of conspiring with LeT for committing illegal acts in India, waging war against the government of India and offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
He has also been accused of intentionally aiding and abetting LeT in Pakistan for committing illegal acts in Mumbai, mischief by fire with intent to destroy Hotel Taj, Oberoi and Nariman House, offences under Explosives Act and Explosives Substances Act as also under Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Headley told the court that Zaki-Ur-Rehman Lakhvi,
Sajid Mir, Abu Kahfa and one member of the naval wing of LeT were present in a meeting in Muzaffarabad where it was decided that he would go to Mumbai and select landing sites.
Headley told the court that in April 2008, he had visited Mumbai and selected landing sites for the safe arrival of the ten terrorists. "In July 2008 I re-checked the landing sites," he said.
"I hired a boat to ride around and see the landing sites. Sajid Mir asked me to do so. I hired boat on four occasions - once from Gateway of India, twice from Badhwar Park in Cuffe Parade and the fourth one from Worli seaface. I was looking at locations which I felt would be safe for landing," Headley said.
He said Hafiz Saeed was the founder of LeT and he, along with Lakhvi, was the final authority in the terror organisation. "They did not micro-manage things. I don't know how much control they executed but they are the ones who decided everything finally," Headley said.
On Ilyas Kashmiri, Headley said that Jund-Al-Fida was set up by Kashmiri and it means 'Army of Fidayeens'.
"I spoke to Kashmiri about 26/11 terror attacks. He was very happy about it and said Sabaash (well done)," Headley said.
He also said that he knows one Captain Khurram who was earlier with the Pakistan Army but had left it as he was unhappy. "Khurram was unhappy with the army as he felt that Pakistan was assisting the US in its war against terror. Khurram joined LeT first but then joined Al-Qaeda claiming he was unhappy with LeT too," Headley said.
Headley also said that he had introduced Abdul Rehman Pasha with one Zeb Shah and his family to see if they would help to smuggle weapons to India. "After Zeb Shah's death, his sons expressed their willingness and interest but I do not know if any deal was struck later," he said.
Nikam told reporters outside the court after the deposition that Headley has revealed that LeT has several wings - military, female, naval, finance - and so on.
Headley further said that in his e-mail exchange with LeT operatives they used code language for the purpose of deception.
