Who is David Coleman Headley? Know all about 26/11 Mumbai attack conspirator and Tahawwur Rana's ‘friend’

Tahawwur Rana, the Mumbai terror attack accused, is likely to reach India on Thursday, April 10. He is being extradited to India from the US. Rana's extradition marks a significant step in the pursuit of justice for the victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

The name of David Coleman Headley has emerged amid the speculations about Rana's return from the US.

Who is David Coleman Headley?

Headley, alias Daood Gilani, is said to be one of the main conspirators of the Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people. According to the US Department of Justice, David Coleman Headley was a US citizen, partly of Pakistani descent.

He was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 for a dozen federal terrorism crimes relating to his role in planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and a subsequent proposed attack on a newspaper in Denmark, the department said.

During the hearing, Headley had admitted that he attended training camps in Pakistan operated by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a terrorist organisation operating, on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005.

In late 2005, Headley received instructions from three members of Lashkar to travel to India to conduct surveillance, which he did five times — leading up to the Mumbai attacks in 2008 that killed more than 160 people.

Headley’s plea agreement in March 2010 stated that he “has provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation and also has provided information of significant intelligence value.”

As per the US Justice Department, Headley was convicted of:

1. Conspiracy to bomb public places in India

2. Conspiracy to murder and maim persons in India

3. Six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of US citizens in India

4. Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India

5. Conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark

6. Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark

7. Conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs said, "As per available information, David Coleman Headley visited India 09 times between 2006 and 2009."

“In all these visits, he used his name as David Coleman Headley. However, in the said plea agreement, Headley’s own admission indicates that in February 2006 in Philadelphia, he changed his name from Daood Gilani...”

How is Headley linked to Rana

Tahawwur Rana, 64, is Headley's close associate, news agency PTI reported. Headley was reportedly a childhood friend of Rana.

According to the chargesheet of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Rana provided logistic, financial and other assistance to David Headley and others involved in plotting terror attacks in India.

NDTV reported that David Coleman Headley's deposition established Tahawwur Rana's involvement in the conspiracy behind the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Ex-Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai said, “Tahawwur Rana was an associate of David Headley who played a much significant role in the 26/11 attacks. ”

“Tahawwur Rana was the person who set up the immigration office in Mumbai in which David Headley was given the job and then he got a visa to come to India...,” Pillai told news agency ANI.

He added, “He [Rana] and David Headley were very close and they must know what was happening, so that is something which his interrogation in India will bring out what he knew and what Headley had told him.”

Mumbai (26/11) terror attacks

On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists went on a rampage, carrying out a coordinated attack on a railway station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, after they sneaked into India's financial capital using the sea route in the Arabian Sea. The operation was carried out for 60 long hours.

Between November 26 and November 28 in 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai — including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Chabad House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley had scouted in advance, the Justice Department revealed.

As many as 166 people were killed in the nearly 60-hour assault.