Author: Vishwa Mohan
Publication: The Times of India
Date: November 8, 2009
FBI Docus Suggest Nat'l Def College Wasn't
Main Target, A City Close To Mumbai Was
The documents submitted by the FBI in an Illinois court against Lashkar-e-Taiba
operative David Coleman Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana suggest
that Headley might have visited Mumbai or a city close to it for a recce more
than once.
The indications came from the email Headley
sent to his Lashkar handlers seeking clarity on his assignment. "The
visit to Rahul's place, is it for checking out real estate property like before
or something different and if so, tell me what you can please. Also is it
exactly in the same Rahul's city or a different one?'' Headley asked the Lashkar
terrorist, who was drawing up a plan to attack India on July 10.
Rahul is suspected to be a prominent actor
who is on the Lashkar hitlist and, like most members of the Bollywood fraternity,
lives in Mumbai.
The 46-page document also suggests that the
capital's National Defence College was included late among the targets for
Headley's terror mission. The reply that Headley received the same day suggests
that the original or even the main target was supposed to be a city close
to Mumbai. "There are some investment plans with me, not exactly at Rahul's
city but near that. Rest we can decide when we meet according to your ease,''
wrote the Pakistan-based Lashkar leader. 'Investment' is , quite clearly,
a code for an attack. The terrorists had identified five targets, including
the Defence College, which was suggested by Headley himself.
After getting around his obsession to attack
the Danish newspaper which had published cartoons of Prophet Mohammad, Headley
said his services would be available from October onwards, possibly to execute
the Lashkar handler's plan against India. It strengthens the estimate that
the Lashkar was planning a big strike to coincide with the first anniversary
of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
