26/11 attacks: David Headley's cross-examination may run for four days, Mumbai court told

Mumbai: Key 26/11 plotter Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal's lawyer on Monday informed a court in Mumbai that he wanted to cross-examine Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley for four days. Also, Judge G A Sanap on Monday directed Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam to contact US authorities, check their availability for Headley's second round of deposition and inform the court by 25 February.[caption id="attachment_2619472" align="alignleft" width="380"] David Coleman Headley. Image courtesy ibnlive.com[/caption]Once the availability is checked, the court will fix dates for Headley's deposition.Meanwhile, Jundal's lawyer Abdul Wahab Khan also moved applications objecting to Headley being made an approver in the 2008 terror attacks case besides making pleas seeking copies of certain documents and CDs. Earlier on 13 February, the day on which Headley's week-long deposition ended, the court had adjourned the case for cross-examination by Jundal's lawyer for a future date. Headley, who is serving a 35-year jail term in the US in connection with the terror attacks case, had made some damning disclosures about LeT and Al-Qaeda's planned to target India, during his testimony which began on 8 February.He spilled beans on how Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI provides "financial, military and moral support" to terror outfits LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen and how LeT had planned and executed the 26/11 attacks and the role played by ISI officials, involving him too.He also revealed that LeT had planned an attack at a conference of Indian defence scientists at Taj Mahal Hotel a year before the 26/11 strikes and had even prepared its dummy. Deposing via a video-link from the US, the 55-year-old terrorist had the court that — Ishrat Jahan — who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in 2004 in Gujarat — was an operative of LeT.Headley had also revealed that Al-Qaeda was in touch with him to attack Delhi's National Defence College and unravelled the plot by LeT and ISI to target Mumbai airport, BARC and the Naval air station in Mumbai. He also visited the Indian Army's Southern Command headquarters at Pune in 2009 on the instructions of ISI's Major Iqbal, who wanted him to recruit some military personnel to get "classified" information, the court was told. PTI