David Headley Had A Mumbai Girlfriend Who He Would Take Along While Scouting For 26/11 Targets

In 'Bombay after Ayodhya', author Jitendra Dixit documents the change in Mumbai's character—from physical appearance and civic issues, to economy, real estate & politics—after Babri Masjid demolition.

A day after the 26/11 attacks, the Times of India published Ajmal Kasab’s photos from the scene of the crime. Everybody was intrigued to see a raksha sutra, or the holy thread worn only by Hindus, tied to his wrist.

In October 2009, a year after the 26/11 attacks, a Pakistan-origin American named David Headley, in his fifties, was arrested at the Chicago airport after being tracked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for over two months. Interrogations revealed his association with the LeT and his role in the 26/11 attacks.

The LeT assigned Headley to select and capture on video the targets. He made seven trips to Mumbai, from 2007 to 2008, for this purpose. During his visits, Headley befriended Rahul, the son of veteran film-maker Mahesh Bhatt, and a gym trainer named Vilas Varak. He travelled across the city with them and visited many places. During one such visit to the famous Siddhivinayak temple, Headley purchased a few holy threads and took them to Pakistan with him. Ajmal Kasab and his associates landed in Mumbai wearing those threads, clearly to confuse investigators.

The intelligence agencies also found that Headley had befriended a woman in her mid-twenties, who ran a sweet shop in south Mumbai—close to Hotel Outram, where Headley stayed. He met her one day when he went to buy a pastry. She fell for the handsome, chivalrous and smooth-talking Headley, and the two began meeting frequently. The woman remained oblivious to the fact that she was being used for his diabolical designs. Whenever he went to scout a target, he would take her along. Moving around as a couple prevented any suspicions from falling on him, and Headley could easily take shots of the targets and note their GPS coordinates.

After Headley’s arrest in Chicago, the woman was questioned by the investigators in Mumbai, but was not required to depose before the court. Headley agreed to become an approver in the case and voluntarily accepted his role in, and prior knowledge of, the 26/11 attacks. His deposition was recorded by a special court in Mumbai through a video-conferencing facility from the US prison in which he was kept.

This excerpt is part of the new Harper Collins book, 'Bombay After Ayodhya', written by Jitendra Dixit, the west India editor of the ABP Network based in Mumbai.