India uncovers fresh evidence against U.S. terror suspect linked to Mumbai plot
India uncovers fresh evidence against U.S. terror suspect linked to Mumbai plot
19:24, November 17, 2009 
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India is grappling with the magnitude of the terror plot of arrested U.S. citizen David Coleman Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana, with investigators unearthing new evidence each passing day.
More than 20 teams in India are spending their days and nights trying to re-trace the steps of Headley and Rana, arrested by the FBI last month in Chicago for plotting terror attacks against India and Denmark at the behest of Pakistan-based banned outfit Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT), and the crux of the probe now is -- did the duo help plan and execute the Mumbai terror attacks last November?
"Issues of granting visa to David Headley by Indian Consulate General in Chicago without Home Ministry's clearance and visit by Tahawwur Rehman Rana to various Indian cities are being looked into very carefully from the security angle," Indian External Affairs Minister S. M Krishna told the media in the national capital on Tuesday.
Highly placed government sources said that it is now clear that Headley and Rana were in Pakistan during the attacks on Mumbai last year. Rana, in fact, left Mumbai just five days before the Mumbai attackers arrived in the city and unleashed India's worst terror attack which claimed the lives of over 170 people.
"Before that, during multiple trips to Mumbai, both men surveyed all four places that were targeted during the terror attacks -- Hotel Taj, the Trident Hotel, the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus and Nariman House. Headley stayed at the Taj and the Trident in 2007, and rented a flat in Breach Candy close to the CST station in 2008, while Rana stayed at a guesthouse in Mumbai," the sources said.
Earlier probe had revealed that Headley and Rana visited India nine times between 2006 and 2009. "Apart from staying in five star hotels in places like Mumbai, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, Headleyand Rana had also stayed with some 'private parties' who were being questioned by security agencies," the sources said.
Meanwhile, India is known to have approached Canada to get more information about Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin.
In a related development, the National Investigation Agency, which has booked Headley and Rana under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for conspiring to wage a war against the country, has asked filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul, who became an acquaintance of Headley during his stay in Mumbai, not to leave the city.
Intelligence agencies have also identified Shameer, the Keralite, who has helped LeT operatives Tahawwur Rana, who was arrested along with Headley in Chicago for alleged involvement in terror activities.
"Shameer is an immigration specialist, who could have helped Rana in his recruitment drive. The investigation had earlier discovered that Rana visited Kochi in Kerala posing as a visa consultant and prior to his visit he even published ads in leading English daily in the state to that effect. We are probing all angles into the matter," the sources said, adding "the duo trail is really grappling the country".
The 49-year-old Headley was arrested by the FBI last month at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Philadelphia, intending to travel to Pakistan. The FBI also arrested 48-year-old Rana for his alleged involvement in terror activities.
Source: Xinhua
More than 20 teams in India are spending their days and nights trying to re-trace the steps of Headley and Rana, arrested by the FBI last month in Chicago for plotting terror attacks against India and Denmark at the behest of Pakistan-based banned outfit Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT), and the crux of the probe now is -- did the duo help plan and execute the Mumbai terror attacks last November?
"Issues of granting visa to David Headley by Indian Consulate General in Chicago without Home Ministry's clearance and visit by Tahawwur Rehman Rana to various Indian cities are being looked into very carefully from the security angle," Indian External Affairs Minister S. M Krishna told the media in the national capital on Tuesday.
Highly placed government sources said that it is now clear that Headley and Rana were in Pakistan during the attacks on Mumbai last year. Rana, in fact, left Mumbai just five days before the Mumbai attackers arrived in the city and unleashed India's worst terror attack which claimed the lives of over 170 people.
"Before that, during multiple trips to Mumbai, both men surveyed all four places that were targeted during the terror attacks -- Hotel Taj, the Trident Hotel, the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus and Nariman House. Headley stayed at the Taj and the Trident in 2007, and rented a flat in Breach Candy close to the CST station in 2008, while Rana stayed at a guesthouse in Mumbai," the sources said.
Earlier probe had revealed that Headley and Rana visited India nine times between 2006 and 2009. "Apart from staying in five star hotels in places like Mumbai, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, Headleyand Rana had also stayed with some 'private parties' who were being questioned by security agencies," the sources said.
Meanwhile, India is known to have approached Canada to get more information about Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin.
In a related development, the National Investigation Agency, which has booked Headley and Rana under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for conspiring to wage a war against the country, has asked filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul, who became an acquaintance of Headley during his stay in Mumbai, not to leave the city.
Intelligence agencies have also identified Shameer, the Keralite, who has helped LeT operatives Tahawwur Rana, who was arrested along with Headley in Chicago for alleged involvement in terror activities.
"Shameer is an immigration specialist, who could have helped Rana in his recruitment drive. The investigation had earlier discovered that Rana visited Kochi in Kerala posing as a visa consultant and prior to his visit he even published ads in leading English daily in the state to that effect. We are probing all angles into the matter," the sources said, adding "the duo trail is really grappling the country".
The 49-year-old Headley was arrested by the FBI last month at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Philadelphia, intending to travel to Pakistan. The FBI also arrested 48-year-old Rana for his alleged involvement in terror activities.
Source: Xinhua
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