IB, RAW to probe US Lashkar operative's 'Rahul' connection
WASHINGTON: Several references to a ''Rahul'' made by Pakistani-American terror suspect Dave Headley aka Daaud Gilani in e-mail exchanges with
Rahul Connection
his Pakistani handlers in course of planning an attack in India has raised alarms in the security establishment about the intended target.
An Indian team comprising officials from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) will travel to the United States next week to question Headley, after an affidavit filed by the FBI showed up references to ''Rahul.'' US authorities have also sought cooperation from India to understand the full extent of the plot that involves Headley and his handlers in Pakistan.
In an affidavit filed in a Chicago court, the FBI refers to a July 8, 2009, e-mail in which Headley tells a man referred to as Lashkar-e-Taiba member A that ''I think when we get a chance we should re-visit our last location again and say hi to Rahul.'' According to the affidavit, following his arrest, Headley told investigators that ''Rahul'' refers to a prominent Indian actor with that first name.
Although there are a few Indian actors with the first name Rahul, there is apprehension that Headley may be trying to throw investigators off-track. Concern is high also because it is the first name of Rahul Gandhi, whose father and grandmother were both assassinated..
In response to Headley’s mail the same day, the LeT member A says ''to see Rahul is a good idea coz have some work for you over there. Matters are good enough to move forward...'' On July 9, 2009, Headley responded: When you say ''move forward'' do you mean in the north direction or towards Rahul?'' to which the LeT handler replies, ''I mean towards Rahul.''
Headley’s response is a series of questions to LeT A: 1. What is the status of the Northern Project, is it still postponed indefinitely? 2. The visit to Rahul’s place, is it for checking out the real estate property like before or something different? Also is it exactly in Rahul’s city or different one? 3. How long do you think I will need to stay at Rahul’s place to complete this task? 4. Will I have to stay there continuously for a while or back and forth like before?
In the FBI affidavit, Special Agent Lorenzo Benedict tells the court that ''Based on my review of this and other communication, I believe that Headley had enquired of the LeT member A whether the Denmark project (to attack the newspaper that published Prophet Mohammed’s cartoons) was on hold, and whether the visit to India that the LeT Member A had asked him to undertake was for the purpose of surveying targets for a new terrorist attack.''
Later on July 10, LeT member A responds to Headley’s email, stating, in part, that ''There are some investment plans with me, not exactly at Rahul’s city, but near that. Rest we can decide when meet according to your ease.''
Headley was arrested when he was on his way from Chicago to Philadelphia, from where the FBI says he was intending to proceed to Pakistan. According to the Bureau, he had already made several trips to Pakistan to meet his handlers and for training, and he may also have made trips to India for reconnaissance.
Special Agent Benedict’s affidavit details further exchanges between Headley and the unnamed LeT member A as the Pakistani-American seeks more details about the next steps, time required etc, including despair inquiries about whether the ''Northern'' Danish attack was really being postponed.
''I understand these emails to reflect that beginning in July 2009, LeT member A was placing higher priority on using Headley to assist in planning a new attack in India rather than on completing the planned attack in Denmark,'' Special Agent Benedict told the court. ''After this time, it appears that Headley and Individual A continued the planning of an attack on (Ilyas) Kashmiri, rather than Lashkar e Taiba.''
