Mumbai: Pakistani-American terrorist and 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks convict David Headley on Friday told a special court that Lashkar-e-Toiba was unhappy that Mumbai airport was not selected and included as one of the targets in attack.
Headley said that he discouraged LeT from selecting Siddhivinayak temple and Naval air station for the strike as then the 10 attackers would have to concentrate on those targets only as both the sites are heavily guarded.
Headley, who had also recced Siddhivinayak Temple, added that he had purchased red and yellow sacred threads from the temple as a cover for the 10 attackers so that people would think they were Hindus.
Headley, who is deposing before a Mumbai court via video conferencing from an undisclosed location in the US, has disclosed the relationship between the Pakistan's Inter-State Intelligence (ISI) service and LeT. He also named the people behind the terror strike in Mumbai from November 26-28, 2008 in which 166 people were killed.
Headley had earlier told the court that he recced India seven times before the attack and once after that. Headley said that LeT leader Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi had emphasised that surveillance for 26/11 attacks should be done properly as this was a chance "to take revenge for all bomb blasts India had done in the past" in Pakistan.
Lakhvi wanted landing site to be Gateway of India as it's close to Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, Headley added.
Headley revealed that Major Iqbal of ISI had tasked him with recruiting a Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) employee to gather classified information for the intelligence agency. He added that he visited and videographed BARC in July 2008.
On the question of selection Chabad House as target, Headley told court that it was selected by LeT
as a target as it was an international location where Jewish and Israeli people were staying.
Unravelling the sinister plan, Headley told court he was interested in developing close relations with a Shiv Sena member as he thought that LeT would be interested in future to either attack Sena Bhawan or assassinate its head. He said that he met Sena worker Rajaram Rege inside the Sena Bhavan and started to develop relationship.
On Thursday, Headley made a major revelation and referred to Mumbra (a town near Mumbai) girl Ishrat Jehan as a suicide bomber of LeT. Ishrat, Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai and two Pakistani nationals Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Jowher were gunned down at Kotarpur in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.
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