Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The mysterious Rahul, talked about in terror suspect David Headley’s emails, has been finally identified. It’s neither Shah Rukh Khan nor Rahul Gandhi, but the son of famous filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, says a media report on Friday.
According to Mumbai Mirror, the mention of Rahul in Headley’s emails was not because he was on the Lashkar-e-Toiba’s hit-list; he was in fact a friend.
However, investigating agencies after having questioned Rahul have given him a clean chit, saying that he appears to be not guilty.
Purportedly, Rahul Bhatt, 25, who is a fitness freak, had met Headley in a gym. The two men became friends and later on Headley’s request, Rahul helped him rent a flat near the Breach Candy Hospital.
The Mumbai Mirror report quoting an officer privy to the investigations said, “He has admitted to being friends with Headley. But, in all probability, he didn’t know Headley’s actual background and took him to be a foreign national in India on a job. That was exactly the guise Headley had been living under in India between 2006 and 2009.”
Investigators are also certain that Rahul was not aware of Headley’s LeT links. He only knew Headley as a consultant for an immigration firm in Tardeo.
Headley, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, was arrested by FBI on October 18 along with a Canadian citizen of Pak origin Tahawwur Rana, at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on charges of plotting terror attacks on India and Denmark. Both are suspected LeT operatives.
Investigators were under tremendous pressure to identify ‘Rahul’ mentioned so very frequently in Headley’s emails to his handlers, which were accessed by US sleuths and is part of the affidavit filed by them in the court.
The FBI affidavit notes: In an e-mail on July 2009, Headley told Lashkar-e-Toiba Member A that “I think when we get a chance we should revisit our last location again and say hi to Rahul.”
A reply from LeT Member A on the same day read: “To see Rahul is a good idea coz have some work for you over there too. Matters are good enough to move forward...”
On July 9, Headley writes again: “When you say ‘move forward’, do you mean in the north direction or towards Rahul...” To this Member A replies: “Towards Rahul.”
Meanwhile, Rahul’s father Mahesh Bhatt has neither confirmed nor denied that his son had been questioned in connection with the Headley case. He was quoted as saying: “This is an issue of national security and not something trivial related to Bollywood. Ask agencies that deal with national security. I will not say anything more.”
