LeT planned to attack defence scientists, designed dummy of Taj Hotel: David Headley

He also revealed that he was asked by Pakistan's ISI to recruit Indian armymen to spy for them

Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley today said that the LeT had planned to attack Indian defence scientists at the Taj Mahal Hotel a year before the 26/11 strikes and that he had conducted a recce of the Naval air station and the Siddhivinayak Temple.

Testifying before a Mumbai court for the second day via video-link, Headley also said that he was asked by Pakistan's ISI to recruit Indian armymen to spy for them.

"In November, December 2007, the LeT held a meeting in Muzaffarabad which was attended by Sajid Mir and Abu Kahfa. In this meeting it was decided that terror attacks would be conducted in Mumbai."

"The task of conducting recce of Taj Hotel in Mumbai was assigned to me. They (Sajid and Kahfa) had some information that there was going to be a meeting of Indian defence scientists at the conference hall in Taj Hotel. They wanted to plan an attack at that time," Headley said.

 

"They also made a mock (dummy) of the Taj Hotel. However, the meeting of the scientists was cancelled," he said, adding that prior to November 2007, the place was not decided where terror attacks would be conducted in India.

Headley later said that the "plan to attack the conference hall in Taj was cancelled due to logistical reasons, like it was not possible to get weapons and personnel to the hall."

Giving details of his Mumbai visit, he said that on September 14, 2006, he had come to Mumbai for the first time after joining the LeT.

"In 2006, I did surveillance of multiple places but at that point of time, the targets were not decided.I recced Hotel Taj several times in 2007. I also did general surveillance of many places in the city, but I'm not sure if I recced Trident hotel at that time," he said.

"In March 2008, when I came to Mumbai, I did surveillance of multiple places like the Taj Hotel, Naval air station and the Maharashtra State Police Headquarters in south Mumbai. I also selected landing sites for the terrorists," said the 55-year-old, who has turned approver in the case.