- By Nidhi Giri
- Thu, 10 Apr 2025 03:22 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen is one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attack that killed 166 people, including 20 security force personnel and 26 foreigners, in several parts of India's financial capital, Mumbai. The attention turned to Headley amid Tahawwur Hussain Rana’s extradition to India. Headley’s movements in India at the time were made easier through the support of Tahawwur Rana. Rana and Headley were childhood friends from Pakistan, both educated from the same military school.
Tahawwur Rana, 64, was brought to India on a special flight on Thursday after his last-ditch attempt to evade extradition failed as the US Supreme Court justices rejected his application.
Who Is David Headley?
David Coleman Headley, born Daood Sayed Gilani, is a Pakistani-American terrorist. His role in conducting surveillance of targets in the Mumbai attacks made him a central figure in the investigations that followed.
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Headley was born in Washington DC to a Pakistani diplomat father and an American mother. He spent his early years in Pakistan, where he attended a military boarding school. He later moved to the United States and worked as a barman in Philadelphia. Headley developed ties with the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). In 1998, he was convicted of smuggling heroin into the US and sentenced to two years in prison. Upon his release, he began working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), conducting undercover operations in Pakistan.
David Headley's Role In Mumbai Attacks
Between 2002 and 2005, Headley attended at least five training camps run by LeT. Meanwhile, he also travelled to India multiple times between 2006 and 2008, posing as a business consultant.
During these visits, he conducted extensive reconnaissance of major targets, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and Nariman House. His travel was facilitated by Tahawwur Rana’s immigration firm in the US that served as a front for Headley's espionage missions.
Headley was arrested in 2009 by US authorities for planning an attack on a Danish newspaper and for his role in the Mumbai attacks.