New Delhi: In fresh leads linking them with
the November 26 attacks, American terror suspect David
Headley and his Pakistani-Canadian associate Tahawwur Hussain
Rana were being handled by same people who had given orders to
Ajmal Kasab and other terrorists killed during 26/11.
With National Investigation Agency (NIA) widening its
ambit of probe, more information surfaced about the activities
of Headley who was found to have visited the Osho Ashram in
Pune and also used two cyber cafes in Delhi's Paharganj
locality where he had also stayed.
"Evidence is slowly getting established that Headley and
Rana were part of the larger conspiracy behind the Mumbai
attack. They were in touch with same people who were giving
directions to (Azmal Amir) Kasab (the lone surviving terrorist
in Mumbai attack) and other terrorists," a senior Home
Ministry official said.
Indian investigators have asked FBI, which arrested
Headley and Rana for plotting terror attack in the US and
India, for the voice sample of Headley and Rana so that it
could be compared with the sample available here.
There is definite information that Headley and Rana had
stayed in Pakistan during last year's Mumbai attack and left
that country in the first week of December 2008, the official
said.
Following the leads, investigators are questioning a lot
of local contacts in all the places where Headley and Rana had
stayed between 2006 and 2009. "However, there is no prominent
person whom he had contacted," he said.
Besides, a large number of people -more than 100- had
contacted Rana after he issued advertisements in newspapers
offering immigration services. "We don't know how many had
availed of the facility and how many of them had gone abroad.
We are verifying all such details," the official said.
During their stay in India, Headley and Rana mostly had
used international credit cards for their financial dealings
besides receiving money from abroad through Western Union
Money Transfer.
On reports of an official of Pakistan Consulate in
Mumbai handing over a satellite telephone to Headley, the
official said there was no proof of that.
On whether filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul, the
official said he was not a terror suspect but efforts were on
to ascertain if he had unwittingly helped Headley and also
dismissed reports that Rahul had introduced three Bollywood
actresses to the terror suspect.
Headley had stayed at the Osho Ashram in Pune twice
during his visits to the city in 2008-09 but did not register
himself as a foreign national with the police.
Specifying the dates of Headley's visit -- June 24,
2008 and March 16, 2009 -- Joint Commissioner Rajendra
Sonavane said police got the information about his stay at the
ashram from commune officials last night while scrutinising a
report submitted by them on foreign national visitors.
Sonavane said police would be inquiring as to why
Headley failed to register himself with the authorities as a
foreign national as per the requirement under the law.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police have identified two cyber cafes
visited by Headley during his three-day stay in the national
capital early this year.
The city police have intensified checking at cyber
cafes in central Delhi's Paharganj, which is continuing today
also. Police described the searches as "routine" and not
specifically for investigations into Headley case.
A senior police official said they have identified two
cyber cafes visited by Headley during his three day stay in
two hotels Paharganj in March.
"We have passed on this information to National
Investigation Agency (NIA)," the official said.
‘Pak admitted Fahim's passport is genuine’
Pakistan Government has admitted
to India that the passport obtained by 26/11 accused Fahim
Ansari in a fake name was genuine but issued on the strength
of bogus documents given by him, a senior official of the
external affairs ministry said today.
"This was revealed by Pakistan in a dossier given to
me by their Director General (South Asia) in Foreign Ministry
on July 11", Joint Secretary, MEA, Manpreet Vohra told Judge
M L Tahliani at the anti-terror court here.
Vohra was then posted in Islamabad as India's Deputy
High Commissioner.
The MEA official, who appeared as witness, submitted a
copy of relevant documents which were part of the dossier
given by Pakistan to India.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 00:15