Was happy with success of attacks: David Headley

“I was also happy,” said David Coleman Headley while replying to the prosecution’s question on the reaction of the 26/11 conspirators to the success of the attacks. Headley, on Thursday, also told the court that he had taken boat rides to identify safe landing sites for the attackers in Mumbai, and Worli was a proposed site.

When the special public prosecutor asked him about the reactions of ISI agent Sajid Mir and Abu Kahafa, Headley replied that they were happy, and when asked what was his reaction, the Pakistani-American terrorist stated, “I was also happy.”

Headley also said that Ilyas Kashmiri, founder of terror group ‘Brigade 313’ and ‘Jund Al Fida’ (army of fidaeen or suicide bombers), also appreciated the tragedy and congratulated him when had narrated the details of the conspiracy to him.

Headley said he taken around four to five boat rides to select a safe landing site for the attackers. According to him, Mir had told him to take boat rides to identify landing site and he had also given him GPS to set routes for attackers. “I took one ride from Gateway of India, two from what would became the landing site and the fourth near a shooting range in Worli.

He informed the court that on October 12, 2006 he sent a letter to the RBI on behalf of M/s Immigration Law Centre, Chicago seeking permission to open a business account, however, the RBI refused to grant permission.

He claimed that at the instance of Major Iqbal, he informed his friend Dr Rana that he was not interested in running the business in India anymore and vacated the office in 2009. However, according to him, Dr Rana was interested in continuing , but he was not aware what steps he took. Also, Dr Rana asked his employee Mahrukh Bharucha to take a cell phone number in her name for Headley’s use.

Headley also said he had gone with retired Pakistani army Major Abdul Rehman Pasha to the town of Landi Kotal in the federally administered tribal area near the Afghan border to meet drug dealer Zaid Shah in an attempt to see if he could help smuggle weapons to India.

On Thursday, he said he went to meet Shah later, but they came to know he had died and hence they met his sons who agreed to do the job.