LeT planned attacks on Bollywood stars, Shiv Sena leaders, Somnath temple

CHICAGO - Fresh evidence unearthed by the FBI shows that the Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT), the Pakistan-based extremist outfit, was planning to carry out Mumbai-type attacks on India’s National Defence College (NDC) in New Delhi, the Somnath temple, an important Hindu pilgrimage place in Gujarat, as well as target some Bollywood stars and leaders of the Hindu supremacist Shiv Sena party in Mumbai.

This was revealed in fresh evidence filed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in a Chicago federal court Monday against Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistan-born Chicago businessman who was arrested last month along with Pakistani-American terror suspect, David Coleman Headley, for planning terror attacks in India and Denmark. These targets were euphemistically described as “business ventures” by Rana.

“In the September 7, 2009 conversation, Headley discussed four targets with Rana - Somnath (a temple in India ) and Denmark, Bollywood (a reference to the Indian film industry) and Shiv Sena (a political party with roots in Hindu nationalism),” the FBI said in a new 10-page affidavit.

“In his post-arrest statement, Rana falsely claimed that these were references to potential business ventures. It is difficult to imagine why a person who praises the work of a designated terrorist group that attacks India would look at an Indian temple or a Hindu nationalist party as a business venture,” the FBI noted.

“And it bears note that, as set out in the complaint, ‘business’ and ‘investments’ were code words used by Rana, David Coleman Headley, ‘Pasha’ (a retired Pakistani army brigadier) and others to describe terrorist plots,” the FBI said.

Rana discussed the National Defence College in India as a “target” during a conversation on Sep 7, 2009 with Headley who added it to his list of previously discussed targets, saying “sorry not four, five”.

To this Rana responded, “Right, this is it, I knew already”, further adding he “thought it is the target”. Prosecutors stated that Rana used the “English word target”.

According to the conversation, Headley explained that he “would ask LeT Member A to ‘do that first’ (attack the Defence College)” to which Rana responded affirmatively, “in this matter, do the defence”.

After Headley states that “we” would use LeT Member A to carry out the attack on the defence college, that is much sought after as a strategic training institution by military officers from developing countries, particularly from Africa and South and Southeast Asia, Rana again offered praise for LeT Member A and LeT.

“They should be really commended. I appreciate them from my heart,” Rana said, according to prosecutors.

Rana “knew well in advance” about the Mumbai attacks and offered congratulations to the killers, according to the FBI. Rana, in fact, learned an attack was about to happen while travelling in Dubai days before the Nov 26-28, 2008 assault that killed 166 people and injured 244.

Referring to the taped telephonic conversation that Rana had with Headley during a long car drive on Sep 7, 2009, the FBI said the duo had discussed the Mumbai terrorist attack in November 2008.

“It is clear from the conversation and extrinsic corroboration that Rana was told just days before the Mumbai attacks that the attacks were about to happen.

“Elsewhere in the conversation, Rana asked Headley to pass Rana’s compliments directly to the specific Lashkar-e-Taeba member they both knew who had coordinated the attacks,” the FBI filing said.

The FBI alleged that Rana met Abdur Rahman Hashim Syed, a retired Pakistani army brigadier, who is known as “Pasha” in Dubai.

Pasha is a retired Pakistani military officer who was allegedly Headley’s direct link to Ilyas Kashmiri, one of Pakistan’s most wanted terrorists and a direct link to Al Qaeda.

“Travel records for Rana corroborate that he was in Dubai days before the Mumbai attacks and was returning from China when the attacks occurred.

“Rana flew to Dubai and arrived on Nov 21, 2008. He remained in Dubai until Nov 24, 2008. On Nov 24, 2008, Rana traveled to China from Dubai. Then, on Nov 26, 2008 - the day the Mumbai attacks started - Rana boarded a plane to return to America,” the FBI said.

The FBI charged that Rana had conceded about his Dubai meetings in his post-arrest statements. Further, Rana acknowledged that he had met with Pasha in Dubai and that Pasha even stayed with him.

“Rana, however, falsely denied being told by Pasha specifically that the Mumbai attacks were about to happen. Instead, Rana claimed that Pasha only told him that ‘they were saying that you know, we are fighting in Kashmir, and we are doing all this thing, and there things which we are planning and all that’,” the FBI affidavit said.

US prosecutors Monday opposed Rana’s release on bail saying he was a flight risk. His detention hearing is set to resume Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in the US District Court in Chicago.

Rana, a Canadian citizen, had appeared in court on Dec 2 for his detention hearing, but a decision to release him on bond was postponed till Dec 15 by Nolan, who said she needed more time to review the evidence, including his statement to the FBI after his arrest in October on terror charges.