Headley lied, used old friend Rana to save his skin

Chicago: David Coleman Headley, co-accused in the Mumbai terror attacks, lied to the law enforcement agencies and implicated Tawahhur Hussain Rana in the plot in a bid to save his life, defence attorneys said today. The Pakistani-American said that he made a “fool” of Rana by involving him in the 26/11 Mumbai attack conspiracy. “I made a fool of him (Rana). Poor fellow was stuck in this for no fault of his. I made a fool of him in getting to assist me on what I did,” Headley told Rana’s lawyer. Testifying during the trial of Rana, Headley said he made a video of the German Bakery which was bombed on February 13, 2010, killing at least 17 people and injuring 60 others. While Headley was under arrest by the FBI, the German Bakery was attacked. Headley, who ended his testimony, said that he had made a list of Chabad houses in Delhi, Pushkar and Pune which could be targeted. While Headley has pleaded guilty, Rana has maintained  that he is not guilty in the charge of “support to terrorism”. Defence attorneys said Headley lied to the law enforcement agencies and implicated Rana in the plot in a bid to save his life. Headley, 50, a Pakistani-American, has been cross-examined by defence lawyers of Rana, a 26/11 co-accused and a Canadian of Pakistani origin who is standing trial at a Chicago court here after being slapped with a dozen charges in connection with the Mumbai attacks in which 166 persons were killed. [caption id=“attachment_18536” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“According to the defence lawyers, Headley lived multiple lives and used his friend over the years. AFP “]  [/caption] Headley, who pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and extradition, wrapped up the testimony, with prosecutors saying they expect to call up to eight more witnesses starting today. The FBI agents and Rana’s relatives will be the next witnesses in the trial. The defence lawyers said Headley lived multiple lives and used his friend over the years. Rana, 50, and Headley met as teenagers at a Pakistani military school. Headley conceded that he was secretly researching on the Internet at Rana’s house. “As expected, this guy has a very troubled history and past,” Patrick Blegen, Rana’s attorney, told reporters here after the trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.  “It’s my sense that he answered the questions affirmatively because we had a stack of papers to contradict him.  He lied before in the past,” Blegen said. “Headley used Dr Rana from an early age and he’s a criminal. He had no friends. He had only himself,” Charlie Swift, another lawyer of Rana, said. He added that Headley duped even his wives. “Headley is a spider who spins the web so that everything works his way… The true image of David Headley emerged over the last three days.” Swift said that Headley gave Rana money to keep Rana in his traps.  “Headley has always manipulated people — always does. He did it for years before he made friends with Rana, not for today but for years,” Swift said. PTI