How David Headley's Fake Mumbai Office Masked The 26/11 Plot

David Coleman Headley, who is serving a 35-year sentence in the US for terrorism-related charges linked to the 26/11 attacks, operated a fake immigration office in Mumbai as part of a larger conspiracy behind the 2008 terror attacks, a supplementary chargesheet filed by anti-terror agency NIA said. 

A US citizen of Pakistani origin, Headley attended at least five Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) training camps in Pakistan between 2002 and 2005 and travelled to India on the instructions of Lashkar commanders to conduct surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks in 2008, according to the US Department of Justice.

India has repeatedly sought his extradition, but US authorities have refused, citing his cooperation deal.

David Headley's so-called immigration law centre was never a real business but a carefully constructed front that allowed him to operate freely while carrying out reconnaissance for Pakistan-backed terrorists, showed the National Investigation Agency documents seen by NDTV.

According to the statement of a former employee quoted in the NIA filing, Headley never offered prayers, a namaz, inside the office premises. Publicly, Headley projected himself as a practising Muslim. He, however, as stated by the former employee, would visit the Fort area to pray.

This, said investigators, was Headley's calculated effort to avoid creating identifiable patterns within the office that could raise suspicion among staff.

Instead of sending emails from the office, Headley used a nearby cyber cafe, said the former employee.

Headley did not use the office landline; he conducted all communications via his mobile phone.

The ex-employee told the investigators that while the office was operational and clients visited it, no visa applications were ever processed at the centre.

This finding corroborates the NIA's assessment that the immigration centre existed solely as a cover, enabling Headley to claim a legitimate commercial reason for staying in Mumbai while conducting surveillance of key targets ahead of the 26/11 attacks.

The former employee stated that Headley did not limit his stay to Mumbai and also visited Pushkar and Delhi, although the purpose of the trip was not known.

The supplementary chargesheet was filed after the extradition and arrest of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a known associate of Headley.

Pakistan-born businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana is currently in custody in India, where he is awaiting trial on charges related to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, which were carried out by Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. More than 160 people were killed in the attack.

Rana was the one who prepared the travel documents and also made other arrangements for David Headley when he visited India.

Earlier, Headley had said that it was Rana's travel firm that he used in order to make his visits to India.