He was calm and at times humorous

Even though he may have faced a barrage of 200-odd questions, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, a secret agent of Lashkar-e-Toiba was composed and preferred to answer straight, sometimes often laced with humour.

The 56-year-old six-foot plus well-built Headley, who was donning a grey full-sleeve T-shirt and trousers, during the brief breaks was also seen sipping coffee perhaps to kill sleep. Headley, in December 2015, had turned an approver and agreed to tell the whole story.

The proceedings in Mumbai court began at 7 am and ended at 12.30 pm (IST).
This is for the first time that a terrorist from foreign soil testified before an Indian court – and Additional Session Judge G A Sanap, who presides over terror cases in Mumbai Sessions Court, recorded his statement after Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam conducted the examination-in-chief. In fact, he was comfortable enough as Headley knows three languages – English, Urdu and Hindi.

When asked about his place of education, he said it was Hasan Abdal Cadet College. However, there because of video-conference link issues, it could not be understood. Headley switched over to Hindi and said: “Cadet College…sahar ka naam Hasan Abdal hai”.

When the court was wrapping up, Judge Sanap said that it was 12.30 pm in India and he would wrap up and it was past midnight in the US –but he wishes the court would continue, Headley smiled and folded hands. When the court was adjourned, he said: “Have a good day”.

He also displayed his sense of humour. When asked whether he was trained to handled sophisticated weapons, he said: “If you think AK-47 is sophisticated, yes.” At times, he also spelt out  names and places – so that it goes correctly in the records.

Details in visa application false
David Headley admitted that except the passport number, all details mentioned in the two visa applications made at the Indian consul general’s office at Chicago were false, reports DHNS from Mumbai. “With exception to passport number, date of birth, place of birth, my nationality, my mother’s name and my mother’s nationality, pretty much everything is false...I did this to protect my cover,” he said.

Married thrice
David Headley admitted before the court that he had married thrice and his spouses names are Shazia Gilani, Portia Peters and Faiza Outelha, reports DHNS from Mumbai. Headley married Shazia in 1999 and Faiza in 2007. Faiza aka Faizala Christiana is from Morocco. Headley also confirmed Faiza’s e-mail ID.