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Rana and Headley helped Lashkar-e-Taiba conduct reconnaissance for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks through a fake immigration business in India, US court documents reveal
Tahawwur Rana and David Headley (File Image)
David Coleman Headley, who reconnoitred targets for the 2008 Mumbai attacks on the orders of Pakistan-based terror outfits, was a childhood friend of Tahawwur Rana. A US court, in its order, has provided details about how Rana and Headley assisted these terror groups in carrying out the deadly attacks on 26 November 2008.
HOW DID HEADLEY AND RANA KNOW EACH OTHER?
According to US court documents, Rana and Headley were childhood friends. In adulthood, Rana deserted his post in the Pakistani army and moved to Chicago, where he established an immigration business. Headley, meanwhile, began trafficking heroin, was eventually radicalised, and attended training camps operated by the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (Lashkar). According to Headley’s testimony, the pair met in Chicago multiple times over the course of three years, plotting to assist Lashkar in terrorist attacks that ultimately killed and injured hundreds of people.
THE CONSPIRACY
The document states that in August 2005, the pair met over several days in Chicago, where Headley informed Rana about Lashkar’s plans for Headley to travel to public places and government facilities in India to conduct surveillance for a possible attack. Headley proposed using Rana’s immigration business as a front for Lashkar’s surveillance activities, with Headley posing as an “immigration consultant” for Rana in Mumbai.
“To sweeten the deal, Headley offered to help resolve Rana’s status as a deserter from the Pakistani army. In June 2006, they met again in Chicago, where Headley elaborated on his involvement with Lashkar. After agreeing to open a Mumbai branch of his immigration business, Rana helped Headley complete a successful application for an Indian business visa, which included several inaccuracies,” it says.
Headley used the visa to travel to India under the pretence of operating the Mumbai branch of Rana’s business. Although he rented an apartment, hired a secretary, and signed a lease for the branch, little to no immigration work occurred there. In July 2007, Headley stayed at Rana’s Chicago home, informed him about the surveillance he had conducted in India, and showed him a video he had taken of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Rana helped Headley secure a five-year, multi-entry Indian visa. Using that visa, Headley travelled to India multiple times between September 2007 and March 2008, conducting further surveillance of potential targets.
YEAR 2008
In May 2008, Headley informed Rana about the surveillance he had conducted in Mumbai, identifying potential attack targets, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. “In the autumn of 2008, Headley warned Rana to avoid India, where attacks were imminent, and arranged for Rana to meet with one of their co-conspirators in Dubai. During a later intercepted conversation, Rana told Headley that their co-conspirator in Dubai had confirmed the upcoming attacks. The lease on the Mumbai office expired in November 2008, and neither Rana nor Headley renewed it,” the document states.
Lashkar carried out massive terrorist attacks throughout Mumbai, including at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, between 26 and 29 November 2008. The attacks killed 166 people, injured 239 others, and caused more than $1.5 billion in property damage.
Rana reportedly commended the terrorists who carried out the attacks and stated that the people of India “deserved it.”
“After the terrorist attacks in India were completed, Headley and Lashkar began plotting new—but ultimately unsuccessful—attacks in Denmark and India. Headley once again used the immigration business as a cover to conduct surveillance, this time in Denmark. Headley kept Rana apprised of his surveillance activities, and Rana communicated directly with Headley’s Lashkar contacts,” the document adds.
RANA SENT TO 18-DAY NIA CUSTODY
Rana, who was extradited to India on Thursday, was sent to the National Investigation (NIA) custody in a late evening development. The NIA had produced Rana before a Special NIA Court after his formal arrest yesterday evening, seeking 20-day custody, after which the order was reserved.