The Curious Case of Daood Gilani alias David Headley & co

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 16 Jan 2010 02:57

Have they identified and indicted the First World Immigration employee who prepared the Headley visa papers under Rana's instructions for preparing false documents that aided a terrorist act?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Jan 2010 07:56

The indictment (chargesheet) refers to the names of various players in Pakistan such as Ilyas Kashmiri, Maj. (Retd.) Abdur Rehman et al. Obviously, these are not the people that the US is asking Pakistan to extradite. Certain others like Member A, Person A et al have consistently not been identified. Obviously, the-one-eye-green-and-another-eye-blue Headley and the Army-deserter Rana would have given all details about these persons to the US interrogators. One explanation given for not identifying them is that these are some members of the 'Gang of Seven' currently being tried in the Adiala ATC. This non-identification does not make sense to me. So what if these are already being tried ?

Rangudu · Post by **Rangudu** » 16 Jan 2010 08:02

SS,

I have strong reasons to believe that "they are under trial in TSP" is just an excuse for not naming them. I spoke to some knowledgeable US people and one of them suspects that they are not named because one or more are serving TSPA officers. For example, "LeT member A" is almost surely Sajid Mir, who goes by the name Zarar Shah and maybe also Abu al Qama. But I'm told that even "Sajid Mir" may not be his real name and his real identity is a senior serving TSPA officer. By naming him, Unkil will be forced to charge him or at least explain why they are not doing so. That will lead to exposes that will be crossing TSPA red lines.

arun · Post by **arun** » 16 Jan 2010 08:07

Patni wrote:Tahawwur Hussain Rana documents {Snipped}.........

Official indictment document in PDF format.

I also wonder why the Pakistani resident individuals involved in the Mumbai terrorist attack are not identified by their real names but rather identified by monikers unlike the abortive Denmark terrorist plot where the residents of Pakistan have been identified by their real names

I do hope this is not an attempt by the US to go to bat for its Major Non NATO Ally, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan at the expense of India.

Rangudu · Post by **Rangudu** » 16 Jan 2010 08:13

arun,

Pls see the two posts before yours. B.Raman believes that one possible reason for not naming the LeT members is that they are under trial in TSP. But the real reason is likely more sinister.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Jan 2010 08:18

Rangudu, thanks. That is what one suspects, that the US is protecting Pakistani 'ghairat', as it has always been doing. But, there is stunning silence in India and nobody is raising questions. It is the exposure of the deep nexus between state and the so called non-state actors that will reveal to ordinary Indians the extent to which Pakistani establishment has gone in destabilizing India. Headleys and Ranas are, by themselves, unimportant.

Added later: Certainly, the NIA would have raised this with the FBI. Either the FBI refused to divulge the names, or the FBI did give the names to NIA but asked them not to reveal them so as not to offend Pakistani sensibilities or the whole cooperation between the NIA and FBI is based on the premise that the NIA will have to accept only whatever information FBI was willing to pass and no questions can be raised.

Somebody like Brinda Karat, who raised a pertinent question in the Parliament on the denial of access to NIA to interrogate Headley while we gave ready access to FBI to Kasab, is also keeping silent though it is a great opportunity for the CPI-M to embarrass the Government.

Rangudu · Post by **Rangudu** » 16 Jan 2010 08:49

SS,

B.Raman and Praveen Swami are likely to publish names if they are known to GoI prevalently. We can see from both their writings that GoI likely is not sure about the real identities of LeT operational commanders. We hear pseudonyms and aliases like Sajid Mir, Muzammil etc. but real names are few and far between.

My feeling is that the US almost surely knows the names and GoI does not have enough knowledge as well as leverage to push the Americans on it.

In other words, if Unkil says "LeT member B" = Abdul bin Kabul from Karachi, we don't have enough to say otherwise. If we had good intel on LeT, 26/11 would never have happened and we would not have a situation where the only warnings of imminent attacks are courtest of Unkil's "generosity"

Poor intel and minimum leverage is a bad combo.

vasu_ray · Post by **vasu_ray** » 16 Jan 2010 09:18

we can probably exercise leverage on the US by threatening to disturb the LOC and have them re-think on their priorities? hiding the names of these scum might come down in the bigger scheme of succeeding with 'war on terror' in a time-frame

even if such a proposition damages both them and us, their self centered behavior might make them act

for us 26/11 was reason enough for thrashing TSP if not for American assurances/pressure

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Jan 2010 09:21

Karan Dixit wrote: Done!

http://karandixit.wordpress.com/categor ... -pakistan/

Karan, you need to make some updates in the above.

Late 2005 - Lashkar member 'A' (handler for Daood Gilani) briefs him on the need to visit India for surveillance of potential targets.

Spring, 2006 - Lashkar member ‘A’ discussed with Headley the idea that he could open an immigration office in Mumbai.

June, 2006 - Gets approval from Rana to open an office of his 'First World Immigration Service' in Mumbai. A staff of Rana's office prepares documents supporting Headley's cover story.

July, 2006 - Person 'A' gives Headley USD 25000 for meeting living expenses in Mumbai and to establish the office.

Please add in the last column for each of his 5 trips "Headley visits Pakistan after the India trip to hand over videos & photos and be de-briefed by LeT".

September, 2007 - Headley is shown a styrofoam mock-up of the Taj Mahal hotel. he is also given USD 2000 worth of Indian currency by Person 'A' again.

April 2008 - Headley given USD 1000 worth of Indian currency by Lashkar member 'A'. He is also given a GPS device by Lashkar members 'A' & 'B' to record the locations of possible landing sites and potential targets in Mumbai.

July 2008 - Headley given USD 1500 worth of Indian currency by Person 'A' who also advises him to close the Mumbai office but open another office in New Delhi.

October 2008 - Headley meets with Lashkar member 'A' and discusses with him about the proposed attack on the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten. Member 'A' gives Headley a USB thumb drive holding details about Denmark, Copenhagen and Jyllands-Posten.

December, 2008 & January, 2009 - Headley discusses with Rana on how he surveilled areas that were attacked in Mumbai and also his new plans at Denmark.

January, 2009 - Headley travels to Pakistan and meets Maj. Abdur Rehman and Lashkar member 'A' separately to discuss the Danish plans.

February, 2009 - Maj. Abdur Rehman takes Headley to Waziristan to meet Ilyas Kashmiri. In the meeting it was decided to use a truck bomb at the Jyllands-Posten office.

March 2009 - Lashkar Member 'A' advises Headley that the Danish plot has been 'put on hold' due to pressure after the Mumbai attack.

May, 2009 - Headley visits Pakistan and along with Maj. Abdur Rehman meets Ilyas Kashmiri again in Waziristan. Kashmiri advises Headley to meet certain people in Europe for getting money, manpower and ammunition for the Danish plot.

Late July, early August 2009 - Headley travels all over Europe including Copenhagen, attempting to obtain assistance from Kashmiri’s contacts.

September 2009 - Headley and Rana discuss the possible death of Ilyas Kashmiri in a US drone attack.

September 2009 - Maj. Abdur Rehman calls Headley to say that Ilyas Kashmiri had escaped the drone attack and was anxious to move forward in the planned Danish attack.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Jan 2010 10:16

Rangudu wrote:SS,

B.Raman and Praveen Swami are likely to publish names if they are known to GoI prevalently. We can see from both their writings that GoI likely is not sure about the real identities of LeT operational commanders. We hear pseudonyms and aliases like Sajid Mir, Muzammil etc. but real names are few and far between.

My feeling is that the US almost surely knows the names and GoI does not have enough knowledge as well as leverage to push the Americans on it.

From Praveen Swami's latest report,

Three Pakistan-based Lashkar operatives — identified only as ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ by the FBI — were in constant telephonic contact with the assault team, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has charged. Lashkar member ‘A’ also sought Kasab’s release in return for the release of a hostage, the FBI says.

Indian intelligence sources told The Hindu that A was most likely to be Sajid Mir — a shadowy figure many believe is ‘Zarar Shah’ who had overall control of technical parts of the operation.

The sources said the other three suspects could include Lashkar military commander Muzammil Bhat.

In other words, if Unkil says "LeT member B" = Abdul bin Kabul from Karachi, we don't have enough to say otherwise. If we had good intel on LeT, 26/11 would never have happened and we would not have a situation where the only warnings of imminent attacks are courtest of Unkil's "generosity"

Poor intel and minimum leverage is a bad combo.

Very true. My hunch is that the entire Headley/Rana indictment in a US Court is to tread a fine line between fighting terror and protecting the H&D of Pakistan against India. The US efforts seem to be to expose Pakistan if a Western interest is involved but firewall & protect Pakistan if it was a matter involving India however grievous it might be. It carefully and blatantly avoids mentioning names of any Army officers (in service or retired) while Maj. (Retd.) Abdur Rehman's name has been openly mentioned as a person involved in the Jyllands-Posten case. I cannot believe that a Pakistani Army Officer involved in a far away Danish plot would not have been involved in plots against any Pakistani Army officer's only mortal enemy, India. I believe that the incidents around Maj. (Retd.) Abdur Rehman have been re-constructed to avoid India. Certainly, the US knows the Pakistani redlines vis-a-vis India.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 16 Jan 2010 16:31

I have a question for gurus.Even taking into account Amirkhan perfidy,will they be so blatant in their 'contempt'.The Anglo-Saxons hate Brahminism.But todays India is not Brahminstic.And the AS know it.We live in a UPA post-mandal age.India is no economic pushover.

Surely India should be knowing the names of the handlers.As Gagan remarked,US has leverage in Pak.So better the thugs be prosecuted in US.Yes they protect their munna.They have disregard for India.But open contempt will fly in their expressed stand on terror.Also Pakis are spreading their wings.While US will do a fine balancing act,they have nothing to lose giving name of handlers to GOI.The Hindu report talks of sanskritised hindi words,even though this must have been known for months.

The Anglo Saxons because of their imperial past feign sympathy for muslims.Damn PC,by selected leaks we can make it difficult for those sections for whose 'welfare' Amirkhan/Englishstaani hearts bleed.We should have got the names by know.But GOI is not announcing them for strategic reasons.Is that a 'reasonable' explanation.

arun · Post by **arun** » 17 Jan 2010 11:02

Indicted Pakistani origin terrorist Daood Gilani aka David Coleman Headley has a lawyer who is apparently an expert deal maker.

Lets hope that a prospective deal does not include silence on the connections leading back to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack:

Terror suspect's attorney knows how to make a deal

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 17 Jan 2010 12:24

Patni wrote:What David Headley, terror suspect, looks like

Anyone know if this is an old pic, sort of like the pic of Madam Shirleen that she publishes with her articles which shows her from 30 years ago or so. Reason I ask is that all the court sketches I've seen so far seem to show a slightly heavier and older man.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 17 Jan 2010 12:41

ArmenT wrote: Anyone know if this is an old pic, sort of like the pic of Madam Shirleen that she publishes with her articles which shows her from 30 years ago or so. Reason I ask is that all the court sketches I've seen so far seem to show a slightly heavier and older man.

AFAIK it sure is an old picture simply cause the TV grab image which came out on dec 01 as shown here has him partialy balding middle aged (He is 49 yrs old). Also all the artist drawings of him in courtrooms show him as balding middle aged heavy set person.

Here is a passport photocopy with one of the hotels in India where he stayed during one of his nine visits to India.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 17 Jan 2010 12:50

Considering the kind of job that US did in regard to recent Bin-Laden picture ( I just posted it in Nukkad for not knowing where to post), this picture too could be of any person on the internet. I really don't see any resemblance between the 4 images that I have see of this headley guy (3 are posted right above and the other with a gray beard and glasses)

Credibility has just gone down the toilet, again.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 17 Jan 2010 13:07

Satya_anveshi wrote:Considering the kind of job that US did in regard to recent Bin-Laden picture ( I just posted it in Nukkad for not knowing where to post), this picture too could be of any person on the internet. I really don't see any resemblance between the 4 images that I have see of this headley guy (3 are posted right above and the other with a gray beard and glasses)

Credibility has just gone down the toilet, again.

AFAIK the gray beard and glasses image is of Tahawwur Hussain Rana as shown under:

Here is a photocopy of his passport showing image as well as his signature:

Rana in Judge Nolan's court room :

Another sketch from another court room appearance of Rana:

Accused terrorist suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana was depicted in a courtroom sketch earlier this month in Chicago. (Verna Sadock/ Associated Press)

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 17 Jan 2010 13:56

Thanks for the clarification Patni ji. Yes, that is the image I recall.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 17 Jan 2010 14:23

Just noticed that both Headley and Rana got their Passport issued in same week of March 2006. The canadian passport, no. JV533373, of Hussain Tahawwur Rana got issued to him, on 3rd March 2006, and is valid for 5 years. While Headley David Coleman got his US passport No. 097536400, issued to him on 10th March 2006 and is valid for 10 years.

Knowing that Rana used to arrange for headleys travel documents etc. IMHO, the paperwork for passport might also be handled by rana and it might even be rana's idea to get daood gilani to change is name over to david coleman headley to get under the radar of Indian consulate and pass off as non-muslim USA born white american!

Headley, according to federal charges filed in a Chicago court, had changed his birth name Daood Gilani on or about Feb 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania "in order to present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani."

He gets his name changed and immediately applies for new passport and gets to India in June 2006 or so with paperwork prepared for him by rana's office on pretext of opening a Mumbai branch of rana's immigration business. He travels to Pakistan right after visiting India for 5 of his visits and since its in Sept 2009 that rana is trying to pass him off as white american to get multi entry paki visa its safe to deduce that headley either had another passport on his birth name valid till least up to 2009 which he used while visiting pakistan or may even had a paki passport on giliani name till then.

Its on record that Rana did indeed tried to get 5 years paki visa for headley in SEPT 2009,, while trying to avoid him visiting the consulate in person, by passing him off as white american to his paki consulate general friend.

Four days later, on or about September 25, 2009, RANA spoke by telephone with the
Consul General at the Pakistani Consulate in Chicago in an effort to obtain a 5-year visa
for Individual A to travel to Pakistan. It is clear from email traffic unrelated to terrorist
plotting that the Consul General knows RANA and Individual A personally as all three
attended the same high school. However, the Consul General knows Individual A by a
different name. (Individual A changed his name to an Americanized name in 2006.) In
seeking a visa for Individual A, RANA stated that he wished to obtain the visa for a
white American named “[Individual A]” who did not have any Pakistani background at
all. When the Consul General suggested that RANA send this friend to the consulate,
RANA explained that he had sent his friend elsewhere to take care of some unspecified
business so that someone else would visit the consulate. It is clear from the foregoing
conversation that RANA was attempting to deceive the Consul General into granting a
visa for Individual A without the Consul General knowing for whom the visa would be
issued.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 18 Jan 2010 09:35

Rana may be chargesheeted in Chicago court on Jan 21

18 Jan 2010, 0606 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: Canadian-Pakistani Tahawwur Hussain Rana, indicted on charges of helping Lashkar-e-Taiba’s 26/11 Mumbai attacks, is expected to be
arraigned in a court in Chicago on January 21 along with co-accused David Headley.

Reports said that “arraignment notice” for Rana and Headley has been scheduled for January 21 before a North Illionis District judge Harry Leinenweber. Separately, “a notice of arraignment and plea” filed on January 15 in the Chicago court lists Rana and Headley as scheduled for “arraignment and the entry of a plea” on Thursday this week.

Reports from Washington quoting a US Attorney’s office spokesman said while Rana would be present for the arraignment, it is still uncertain whether Headley would appear in court to respond to the charges.

On January 14, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment adding three defendants, including Rana, to charges filed last month against Headley, alleging that they and others participated in conspiracies involving a planned terrorist attack against a Danish newspaper and the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

The 12-count superseding indictment contains the identical charges that were filed against Headley on December 7 while adding Rana as a defendant in three of the counts charging material support of the terrorism plots in Denmark and India, as well as in support of terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The indictment alleged that Rana knew of the planned attacks in Mumbai as long ago as 2006, and that he allowed Headley to travel as a representative of his Chicago-based immigration business when Headley went overseas to scout locations for the attacks on hotels, railway station and other sites. On some occasions, messages to Headley’s Pakistani handler were passed through Rana.

Ilyas Kashmiri, HuJI commander, who is alleged to be in regular contact with leaders of al-Qaeda, and Abdur Rehman Hashim, a retired Major in the Pakistani military have also been indicted.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 18 Jan 2010 16:39

Rana might get help from terror groups to flee: ProsecutorsI

18 Jan 2010, 1423 hrs IST, PTI
CHICAGO: Indicted for conspiracy in the Mumbai attack, Pakistani Canadian Tahawwaur Rana might get financial assistance from "dangerous terrorist
organisations" to flee the country if released on bond, federal prosecutors seeking his detention have argued.

With Rana being named as a conspirator, he also faces a harsher jail sentence of life imprisonment in the new chargesheet filed against him, they said.

In a 33-page government response to the motion filed by Rana seeking revocation of his detention order, prosecutors have said his "casual speculation" that it would be easy to extradite him if he fled US and was ever caught again "should be more unsettling than reassuring to the court, considering his ties to terrorist organisations".

The response was filed by prosecutors Daniel Collins and Victoria Peters on Jan 15, a day after Rana and co-accused David Headley were indicted by a grand jury on 12 counts of being involved in conspiracy to target Mumbai and Denmark.

It said in light of the superseding indictment returned against Rana, he now faces additional charges which are "actually much more serious than those he originally faced".

Rana was denied bail by Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan who said if released on bond, he could flee the country to escape a possible 30 year prison term.

However, now charged with supporting the conspiracies to commit murder and to bomb places of public use in India, "the maximum term of imprisonment now faced by Rana is life, giving him heightened incentive" to flee the country.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 18 Jan 2010 17:27

DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR REVOCATION OF THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S DETENTION ORDER

Rana's bond appeal motion filled in court on 30/12/2009 in PDF format. selective excerpts quoted to improve the time line and detail about Rana's past.

Defendant, TAHAWWUR RANA, by and through his attorney, PATRICK W.
BLEGEN, respectfully moves this Court, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §3145(b), to revoke the
detention order entered in this matter on December 15, 2009, by Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan.

In addition to these conditions, Defendant himself proposed additional conditions to secure his release. Defendant, in addition to offering to post his business, First World Management Services, Inc., offered to post nearly one million dollars in property in order to secure his bond, including the following properties:
— Defendant’s home at [address redacted];
— A home owned by Defendant’s sister-in-law at [address redacted] (also deeded in
Defendant and his wife’s name);
— A home owned by Defendant’s brother at [address redacted];
— A home owned by Defendant’s wife’s cousin at [address redacted];
— A home owned by family friends at [address redacted];
— A home owned by family friends at [address redacted].
The combined equity in these properties is approximately $950,000. Defendant also
proposed that the court could impose home detention with electronic monitoring, as well as any other conditions the court found appropriate. Despite the proposed conditions, and the recommendation of Pretrial Services, Judge Nolan ordered Defendant detained based on an assessment that Defendant would pose a risk of flight.1
A copy of Judge Nolan’s Order is attached hereto as Exhibit A. A copy of the
transcripts of the detention hearings on November 3, 2009, and December 2, 2009, are attached as Exhibits B and C, respectively.2 Defendant submits that Judge Nolan was wrong in concluding that there were no conditions or combination of conditions that would reasonably assure the appearance of Defendant if he were released pending trial.3

[1 Magistrate Judge Nolan indicated that because she was detaining Defendant as a risk of flight, she did not need to reach the issue of danger to the community.
2 Issues related to bond were discussed on October 28, 2009, November 3, 2009, December 2, 2009, and December 15, 2009. Defense witnesses testified at the December 2, 2009, hearing, and Judge Nolan gave her oral ruling at the December 15, 2009, hearing. A transcript from the October 28, 2009, hearing is unavailable because the court’s audio recording system apparently malfunctioned. A transcript from the December 15, 2009, hearing has been requested but is not yet prepared. Counsel will provide the December 15, 2009, transcript to the Court as soon
as it is available.
3 Between the December 2, 2009, and December 15, 2009, court appearances, Judge Nolan reviewed evidence that had been provided by the government to the defense. That evidence is the subject of a protective order, so counsel cannot provide it to the Court with this pleading. Counsel has requested that the government
provide to this Court copies of the evidence provided to Judge Nolan.]

Defendant is married with three children, ages 18, 16 and 14. The two youngest children, both daughters, are in high school in Chicago, while his
eldest, a son, is a college student. Defendant has maintained a residence in Chicago since 1997. He owns and operates businesses in the Chicago area.

Defendant’s Pakistani background should raise no concerns whatsoever regarding risk of flight. As noted in the Pretrial Report, while serving as a physician in the Pakistani military,
Defendant was transported to high elevation in the Northern Areas of Pakistan without proper acclimatization to the conditions. As a result, Defendant suffered from High Altitude Cerebral Edema (“HACE”) which led to High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (“HAPE”). Though the effects of both conditions were temporarily reversed by bringing Defendant down to lower elevations, the lingering effects of the conditions were such that the Pakistani military could not properly administer treatment. Defendant requested and was granted leave to seek medical treatment and
subsequently flew to England for treatment. While in England, it became apparent that suchtreatment would not be possible within the time frame of Defendant’s leave. Despite having earned five years leave based on seven years service in the Pakistani military, Defendant was denied extended leave upon request. Defendant continued to request leave based on the need for treatment of both HACE and HAPE, which was denied.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 21 Jan 2010 11:29

David Headley, Tahawwur Rana to be arraigned next week
PTI, 21 January 2010, 04:31am IST

CHICAGO: Terror suspects David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana, indicted on charges of being involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, will be arraigned in a court here next week.

The arraignment of Rana and Headley was initially scheduled for today but have now been rescheduled. While Pakistani-Canadian citizen Rana will be arraigned on January 25, Pakistani-American Headley's arraignment has been set for January 27 before US Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys in US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, US Attorney's Office spokesman Randall Samborn said.

Further, a status hearing that was scheduled for today in Rana's appeal of detention has also been cancelled and not yet been rescheduled, Samborn said.

Chicagoans Headley and Rana were indicted on January 14 by a federal grand jury on charges of being involved in the Mumbai attacks and planning a terror strike against a Danish newspaper in Copenhagen.

The 12-count superseding indictment contains the identical charges that were filed against Headley on December 7 while adding Rana as a defendant in three of the counts charging material support of the terrorism plots in Denmark and India, as well as in support of terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Ilyas Kashmiri, an allegedly influential terrorist organisation leader in Pakistan who is alleged to be in regular contact with leaders of al Qaeda, and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), a retired major in the Pakistani military were also indicted.

Headley had in December pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him. Rana has been in custody since his arrest last year and has been denied bond.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 21 Jan 2010 17:56

American Terror Suspect Makes Another Attempt For Bail

1/21/2010 3:09 AM ET
(RTTNews) - Tahawur Rana, the Pakistan-born Canadian terror suspect, made another attempt Wednesday to seek bail, informing a Chicago District court that fleeing the U.S. would only force him to live as an "international fugitive" and his knowledge of immigration business would not help him run from a "federal indictment."

Set to be arraigned in the same court next week, Rana filed his 7-page reply to the government's response to the motion made by him last month, seeking revocation of his detention order. Federal prosecutors, opposing his bail plea, have said Rana's reason to flee has increased by the maximum term of life imprisonment he now faces.

Charged with conspiring to provide material support to Islamist terrorists in India, Rana will appear before the Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, next Monday (January 25)for arraignment, while his co-conspirator--Pakistan-born American David Coleman Headley--will be arraigned January 27.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Randall Samborn said a status hearing that was scheduled for Thursday in Rana's appeal of detention was canceled and not yet rescheduled.

A federal grand jury, in a 12-count superseding indictment unsealed January 14, added Rana--as an alleged conspirator in planning the Mumbai attacks--to charges filed against Headley, who was already charged December 7 in connection with the three-day bloody rampage in Mumbai in November of 2008.
Rana is charged on three counts of providing material support to a terror plot in Denmark, providing material support to Pakistan-based Islamic terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT), and providing material support in preparation for and in carrying out the Mumbai attacks that killed 164 persons, including six Americans.

Both Rana and his school-time friend Headley are in U.S. custody without bail.

Also indicted are Ilyas Kashmiri, "an allegedly influential terrorist organization leader in Pakistan" with links to al-Qaida, and a retired Major of Pakistan Army, Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, alias "Pasha," both charged on two conspiracy counts in the Denmark cartoonist plot.

Each of these two were charged on one count of conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark, and on one count of providing material support to the Danish terrorism plot. Neither is now in U.S. custody.

by RTT Staff Writer

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 22 Jan 2010 01:04

Exclusive: 'I had a hunch he was an agent

By Jonathan Miller

David Headley's arrest was the first his Indian bodybuilding friends knew about his involvement in the Mumbai attacks. They speak to Jonathan Miller about he implemented them.
Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Varak

Extracts from the interview.

Jonathan Miller: "A photograph of David Headley has just been published. Is it the David Headley you know?"

Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Varak: "That's him, yeah."

RB: "David used to sit here [points around], Vilas used to sit here and there used to be a chair over here. And that's where I used to sit. And we used to order kebabs and Diet Coke and I would show him my knife collection which he was quite fascinated by.

"He was an impressive looking man. He had presence. He was about six foot two inches in height. He was broad. As broad as me. Broad shouldered. A physically fit man.

"He was not remotely an Islamic fundamentalist of any sort. He was a talking, walking…a Yank, American in all regards, great sense of humour, extremely well-informed, sensitive and a good friend. A genuinely good guy. That's the David Headley I knew.

"He had the most interesting set of eyes I have ever seen in my life. It was like a cat's…You could get this sense of anguish.

JM: "How would you read that? When? Was he a moody man?"

RB: "No he was not a moody man, but you could tell he had seen it all. He had a past. A turbulent past. Not a happy life."

"American agent"
RB: "I liked hanging out with him because he was one person I could learn from. He could teach me things about my areas of interest be it guns, be intelligence, be it spy-craft, those areas.

JM: "It must leave you feeling very betrayed by what has happened."

RB: "Oh yes. Indeed."

JM: "Do you feel hurt by it?"

RB: "Yes. I feel hurt because it's a sort of a rape when you have a close friend who... I have stopped trusting people."

JM: "Did he show to you any religious sympathies?"

RB: "Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I can say that without a shadow of a doubt. Absolutely not."

JM: "Did he even come across as a Muslim?"

RB: "No, no, no. He came across as a Yank.

"I had a hunch then and I have a hunch now that he was an American agent of some sort. And I had nicknamed him "Agent Headley" and I thought, I suggested to him that he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and he did not like it.

"I thought he just could be a high-ranking American agent. With high-level top clearance with non-official cover.

"David was aware that I was going to be acting as the leading man in a movie called Suicide Bomber. My father happens to be a movie maker and there was a film called Suicide Bomber which had been conceptualised for me as the leading man based on the 7/11 London bombings and David was aware and it was also in regard to that that we used to have a lot of conversations, talks preparing for that part, about terrorism and counter-terrorism."

Hints and Pakistan
RB: "[In] an email he sent us on 11 December 2008 he says: "Hey guys so sorry to see what has happened in Mumbai. We should go over there and kick their ass."
"He ends off by saying "Stay safe, Dave." So this is an email he wrote to me a month after the 26/11 massacre in Mumbai.

JM: "And it was going to be many, many more months before you were to learn that he'd helped plan that."

RB: "That's right."

JM: "What did you feel when you learned that?"

RB: "Well it was utter disbelief initially. I mean, for the first fortnight, month or so, I was still contemplating whether it was the same guy or not. Is it the David Headley I know or was it just part of my vivid imagination? It kind of left me a little off balance.

RB: "He referred to Pakistan as the Wild West and he said, "Rahul you know it would really help you for your part [in the film] to come and visit the Wild West and get some first hand experience and visit the gun bazaars of Peshawar and go up to the tribal areas of Waziristan".

"I expressed apprehension and said David, Pakistan is a very dangerous place to go to and us being Indian nationals, there's a good chance of us getting kidnapped. And it would be being executed like Daniel Pearl, on camera.

"He was very confident and said nothing of that sort would every happen and we would be very well protected and we would have a convoy of Pajeros escorting us."

JM: "So he was saying "It's safe with me".

RB: "He was saying it's safe with me…

"One incident when we were going to South Mumbai that he mentioned to us there was a bombing in Islamabad, at the Marriott in Islamabad, and I remember him very clearly telling me "you know guys you are going to see things like that happening now in this country.

"So I found that a little shocking."

Implementation
JM: When did you realise that you were "Rahul"?"

RB: " I heard on the TV, it was a breaking story on one of the news channels. I head the David Headley and then I knew it was me.

JM: "And your name was used as a byword for this country: "say hi to Rahul" meant "we're going to India".

RB: "Apparently yes".

JM: That's quite a burden to carry in that your name has been associated with what has happened in Mumbai…"

RB: Extremely. That's what keeps me up at night - what did he have in mind for me?

"I guess he sold me out on that front. But I don’t know, man, what did he mean, what plans did he have for the future, what did he see in me?"

JM: "would you go and see him in jail?"

RB: "Oh definitely."

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 22 Jan 2010 01:14

After 26/11 it didn't occur to Rahul Bhatt to go to the police? And also when he thought the guy was American agent he didnt think the police might be interested? And odd that an "American" is assuring him of protection in Paki Wild west?

I have seen people with that color of eyes in Hyderabad. Its not unusual.

Rahul Bhatt is not yet coming clean.

negi · Post by **negi** » 22 Jan 2010 01:20

Talk about gibberish

"He was not remotely an Islamic fundamentalist of any sort. He was a talking, walking…a Yank, American in all regards, great sense of humour, extremely well-informed, sensitive and a good friend. A genuinely good guy. That's the David Headley I knew.

"I liked hanging out with him because he was one person I could learn from. He could teach me things about my areas of interest be it guns, be intelligence, be it spy-craft, those areas.

"One incident when we were going to South Mumbai that he mentioned to us there was a bombing in Islamabad, at the Marriott in Islamabad, and I remember him very clearly telling me "you know guys you are going to see things like that happening now in this country.
"So I found that a little shocking."

And he describes him as sensitive, caring and down to earth .

JM: "would you go and see him in jail?"

RB: "Oh definitely."

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 22 Jan 2010 08:17

David Headley: stranger than fiction

some selected nuggets of information that I have not seen before:

By Jonathan Miller

US intelligence, bodybuilding and cheese steak washed down with Diet Coke: Jonathan Miller reveals the peculiar facts behind the David Headley story.

Headley invited his Indian bodybuilder friends Rahul and Vilas to join him on a trip to the tribal territories of Pakistan, next to the Afghan border, which Gordon Brown calls "the crucible of terror." When Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Varak expressed alarm and said that as Indians they feared kidnap and decapitation, Headley told them, "It's OK, you'd be safe with me." He told them that they would be very well protected and that they would travel in a convoy of Pajero jeeps into Waziristan - deemed a no-go zone by most Pakistanis. He told Rahul he'd take him to the gun bazaar in Peshawar.

US court documents confirm that Headley had worked as a DEA informer for ten years. Intelligence sources suggest that post 9/11, he may have worked for the FBI. The latest charge sheets accuse Headley of attending Lashkar-e-Toiba training camps, starting in February 2002. A former classmate from the elite Cadet College Hasanabdal told us that at a class reunion in Islamabad at around that time, Headley - still called Daood Syed Gilani - had turned up sporting "a beard to his waist" and that he had become "very religious."

Headley's uncle, William Headley, who lives in Philadelphia, is quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying that Headley "found God" in prison while serving a sentence for heroin smuggling. He told the newspaper: "I have this image of him. He would have the Koran under one arm and a bottle of Dom Pérignon under the other. He loved Armani suits and yet would wear native dress and a beard at other times. He is an extremely rare bird."

When Headley returned to India in March 2009, he did not "say hi to Rahul" and Vilas, his friends in Mumbai. He is accused of planning further attacks on the National Defence College in Delhi and other targets. Israeli intelligence believes he staked out the El Al office and the Jewish Centre in Delhi, the synagogue in Pushkar and the village of Arjuna in Goa. The Israeli Counter Terrorism Bureau issued a warning to Israelis in India based on a "very high level concrete threat," a warning understood to have been passed to them by the US. This warning was issued in September 2009, a month before Headley's arrest. The suggestion, once again, is that Headley himself was the source of the US intelligence.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 22 Jan 2010 08:26

Matthew Miller Statement On Prosecution of Abulmutallab

By Mary Jacoby | January 21, 2010

Statement of Matthew Miller, Director, Office of Public Affairs, on Interrogation and Prosecution of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Since September 11, 2001, every terrorism suspect apprehended in the United States by either the Bush administration or the Obama administration has been initially arrested, held or charged under federal criminal law. Al Qaeda terrorists such as Richard Reid, Zacarias Moussaoui and others have all been prosecuted in federal court, and the arrest and charging of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was handled no differently. Those who now argue that a different action should have been taken in this case were notably silent when dozens of terrorists were successfully prosecuted in federal court by the previous administration.

In the hours immediately after Abdulmutallab allegedly attempted to detonate an explosive device on board a Northwest Airlines flight, FBI agents who responded to the scene interrogated him and obtained intelligence that has already proved useful in the fight against Al Qaeda. It was only later that day, after the interrogation had already yielded intelligence, that he was read his Miranda rights. After the Department informed the President’s national security team about its planned course of action, Abdulmutallab was charged in criminal court.

Trying Abdulmutallab in federal court does not prevent us from obtaining additional intelligence from him. He has already provided intelligence, and we will continue to work to gather intelligence from him, as the Department has done repeatedly in past cases. Most recently, David Headley, who has been indicted in Chicago for helping plan the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has given us information of enormous intelligence value. Furthermore, neither detaining Abdulmutallab under the laws of war or referring him for prosecution in military commissions would force him to divulge intelligence or necessarily prevent him from obtaining an attorney.

The Department of Justice, working with the intelligence community and the President’s national security team, is committed to using every tool available to defeat terrorists and keep the American people safe. It will always be a top priority in these cases to obtain intelligence that can be used in the fight against Al Qaeda around the world. We will be pragmatic, not ideological, in that fight, and we will let results, not rhetoric, guide our actions.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 22 Jan 2010 09:20

So if Rahul Bhatt and his buddy had alerted the Mumbai Police about their suspicions then Headley could have been arrested on his March 2009 trip itself while scouting all those areas.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 22 Jan 2010 09:40

ramana wrote:So if Rahul Bhatt and his buddy had alerted the Mumbai Police about their suspicions then Headley could have been arrested on his March 2009 trip itself while scouting all those areas.

Well IMHO it does not look like Rahul Bhatt had any trouble with the idea of Headley being USA spy infact his statements make it sound like he found it exciting and fun!! I doubt that he would have approached Indian authority even if he was told first hand by headley that he is DEA/CIA undercover operator/informer. Rahul does say he definitely would go see headley in jail even after being totaly aware of his anti-Indian activity and full scale of treacherous behaviour and role he played in 26/11!

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 22 Jan 2010 09:46

^^^
Is it just me whose blood pressure went up 20 points after watching this interview with Rahul Bhatt.

What the hell was that?

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 22 Jan 2010 10:11

Sleuths piecing together Rana’s trysts in Kochi

Express News Service
First Published : 22 Jan 2010 01:13:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 22 Jan 2010 08:48:17 AM IST

KOCHI: The probe into LeT suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana’s visit to Kochi has assumed a new dimension as the investigators are exploring the possibility of Rana having called on a person in the city, who had been in touch with US terror suspect David Coleman Headley in Mumbai.

Sources close to the probe said the investigation team had already unearthed Headley’s frequent visits to a golf course in Mumbai where he had managed to develop acquaintance with certain high-profile persons, including businessmen.

“The probe team has been quizzing several members of the golf club which Headley used to frequent. It is collecting certain information on people who have been to the golf course during a specific period to ascertain whether they have any Kochi connections,” the sources said.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigators have been looking in all possible directions to get a lead on the case.

They suspect that Rana had visited Kochi at Headley’s bidding and a meeting might have taken place between Rana and the third party whom Headley had developed connections with in Mumbai.

Sources said the probe team was expecting a major breakthrough in the next couple of weeks as they had been successful in collecting more information on Headley and Rana’s activities in India.

milindc · Post by **milindc** » 22 Jan 2010 10:58

Jarita wrote:^^^
Is it just me whose blood pressure went up 20 points after watching this interview with Rahul Bhatt.

What the hell was that?

May be he was sleeping with Headley ?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 22 Jan 2010 18:30

From TFT this week,

Reported in Jang a retired major of the Pakistan army Abdur Rehman was being linked to American Pakistani terrorist David Headly or Daud Gilani who played a role in the 26 November 2009 attack in Mumbai by Pakistani non-state actors. Abdur Rehman is being linked also to Qari Saifullah Akhtar, a Pakistani adviser to Mullah Umar and himself erstwhile leader of a jihadi militia, as a brother-in-law of the leader of Lashkar Tayba who successfully petitioned the court for the release of Qari Akhtar in the murder of Benazir Bhutto accused by her in her book before she was killed.

The Headley contact is Major Abdur Rehman Hashem Syed (by the look of his name his lineage is from the Hejaz region of KSA) while the other guy who seems to have successfully petitioned the Pakistani supreme court twice (once in 1995 after Qari was arrested in the militray coup case and the next in 2005 after being deported from the UAE) is Abdur Rehman Mehmood.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 22 Jan 2010 20:29

milindc wrote:May be he was sleeping with Headley ?

milind mava, tussi gr8 ho....jai ho...

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 22 Jan 2010 20:45

milindc wrote:
Jarita wrote:^^^
Is it just me whose blood pressure went up 20 points after watching this interview with Rahul Bhatt.

What the hell was that?
May be he was sleeping with Headley ?

Well the link with select nuggets on Headley includes:

Rahul Bhatt reveals that Headley "was quite homophobic." He apparently castigated the dancing style of a number of prominent Bollywood actor as "very gay" and said "that's not what works in the West."

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 22 Jan 2010 21:30

My blood pressure goes up on the Rahul Bhatt making love to Headley affair because of the complete obeissance us SDREs have for TFTA traits. Headley could not have gotten an iota of attention had he been a Black or Hispanic or East Asian etc.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 22 Jan 2010 21:53

CRS That is the cover story for pausible deniability. I think its deeper than that. I think Dauod Gilani was told to contact RB as he was an agent under infulence. ie a willing tool who doesnt need to be turned.

The most fascianting thing is RB's reluctance to got the police once he figured out Dauod's nefarious acts.

Early on I thought it was naivity or delusion. I think there is something incrimnating that he is afraid would come out. Even this going to police after the arrest in Chicago, is a pre-emptive move to gain public sympathy in case the links come out. Maybe he was helping the scouting of the terrorist strike locations.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 23 Jan 2010 17:47

Neela wrote:Atleast you have some place to vent your anger on this!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2 ... ..1&v=info

But they've got Rana's mugshot there!

Btw, I wouldnt be surprised if this Headley character has had plastic surgery at some point of his lifetime to conceal potentially "damning" features! Besides, if D-company (D.Ibrahim and others) are involved (which i'm sure they are), then how come we havent seen/uncovered the roles played by Shakeel junior and party?

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 23 Jan 2010 20:36

CRamS wrote:My blood pressure goes up on the Rahul Bhatt making love to Headley affair because of the complete obeissance us SDREs have for TFTA traits. Headley could not have gotten an iota of attention had he been a Black or Hispanic or East Asian etc.

Well Stephen Cohen has become a Paki - so its not just SDREs