Used the party-hearty front to gain normalcy to help him in recces, develop contacts and tap recruits for sleeper cells for terror activities
Used the party-hearty front to gain normalcy to help him in recces, develop contacts and tap recruits for sleeper cells for terror activities
Sleuths from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the role of suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Coleman Headley in the Mumbai terror attacks of November 26, say the man spent as much time setting up sleeper cells as he did being a playboy.
Headley allegedly partied hard and played harder to develop contacts, conduct recces at terror targets, and meet people from former sleeper cells, and maintain a semblance of a social life to ensure normalcy.
The NIA questioned his secretary and a man who worked at the visa agency in Tardeo for Headley.
Police have recovered a mobile phone that belonged to Headley and the police have been interrogating the names mentioned in the phone records.
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Mixing Business with Pleasure: David Headley frequented upmarket bars in the city with foreigners to engage recruits for his sleeper cell and rent an apartment. A bar dancer from Andheri helped him get a flat in Mumbai. |
Headley apparently bought the phone in mid 2008 and changed SIM cards in September and in February 2009.
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All were prepaid cards and a number of ISD calls were made on them.
Bar visitsHeadley frequented upmarket bars like Topaz in Grant Road, Mansi in Andheri, Sandesh in Dahisar and Mayuri Park at Sahar. Sources say that he was sometimes accompanied by foreigners.
NIA sources say the reason was to source and engage recruits and get an apartment. Names of three girls have cropped up during investigations. A bar girl from Andheri allegedly helped Headley find a flat.
Sources said, "The girls had nothing to do with his terror tactics, but Headley used them as a front and also took them to do a recce of hotels and other terror targets so that he would get by without raising any suspicion.
Escort agencyA number of escort agencies, whose names have cropped up in the investigations are Hum Tum 2009, Enjoy, International Friendship Club 2008,
www.gorgeousclubofIndia.
com, Night Club 2009, Friendship Star 2009, Fun Club 2009. The names of these clubs were revealed from the call records that were found from Headley's phone. Headley found the clubs throughu00a0 advertisements in papers.
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Sources claimed, he preferred Russian or Caucasian girls, as he pretended to be a foreigner.
He used the girls to gain respectability took one along when he to Bandra-based property dealer Sunny Singhu00a0and introduced the girl as his wife.
His forays into Bollywood have already been documented through his contacts at the gym Moksh in Breach Candy, where he worked out regularly.
9The number of times Headley visited India between 2006 and 2009
16Headley's age when he moved out of Pakistan and left for America
'I don't know him'Actor Emraan Hashmi rubbished reports of his alleged links with terror suspect David Headley and said he has never met him. "These allegations are baseless and are causing harm to my image and day-to-day life.
I am very upset," said Emraan. In a statement issued through his lawyer Rohini Vakil, the actor said he was shocked to see his name crop up in the case.
