Lashkar Attempted Attack On Bal Thackeray, David Headley Tells Court

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray was to be killed by a terrorist from Lashkar-e-Taiba, but the would-be assassin was arrested, a Mumbai court was told today.

The disclosure -never made before- came from David Coleman Headley, the Lashkar terrorist who is testifying via video conference from an undisclosed location in the US ,where he was arrested in 2009 for his role in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.

Headley, 55, admitted during today's hearing that the Shiv Sena's headquarters in Central Mumbai had been surveyed by him. The landmarks targeted during the 26/11 attacks had been filmed extensive by the Pakistani-American.

"I have no first-hand knowledge but I think an attempt was made by LeT (Lashkar) to kill Bal Thackeray," he said. "I don't know how this attempt was made. I think the person (who was sent to kill Thackeray) was arrested but he managed to escape from police custody. I don't have first-hand knowledge about this though," said Headley, who has agreed, as part of a plea bargain with the US, to testify in terror cases.

"Headley said that a contract killer was hired. This is a serious matter. Why did the police hide it?" asked Sanjay Raut, a Shiv Sena parliamentarian.

Headley has revealed that he was arrested by American officials in 1988 and 1998 on charges of drug trafficking and that after his second arrest, the Drug Enforcement Authority (DEA) of the US financed his trip to Pakistan. Headley worked as a double agent, intel agencies have confirmed; though he was tasked by the US to share information on Pakistan and terror activities there, he worked for the Lashkar, and has alleged that top military officers lectured him and others during training courses as Lashkar operatives.