Headley was an absolute monster, a terror jackal: Rahul Bhatt

Sumir Kaul

Mumbai, Feb 21 (PTI) Four months after the involvement of
American terror suspect David Headley in 26/11 attacks came to
light, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul Bhatt is still to
come to terms with the "betrayal of faith" by the US national
whom he now calls a "terror jackal" and an "absolute monster".

"This incident has shaken me terribly. I have lost faith
in everyone. I don't even trust my girlfriend now. I have
started suspecting people in my family. I can't trust anymore.
I have become like a typical policeman who looks at everyone
with suspicion...Its paranoia," says 28-year-old Bhatt.
Bhatt, who is a nutritionist and a fitness professional,
said the Headley incident has made him "xenophobic" and he has
lost faith in all human relationships. Whatever has happened
of late has also made him "wiser", he said.
"I have become a xenophobic... I have stopped trusting
people and I am extremely suspicious of foreigners ...It is
xenophobia that I have developed. So now, my guard is up and I
am in a constant state of awareness and alertness because of
the bizarre incident," said Bhatt who was questioned by
security agencies after it emerged that Headley had known him
during his stay in western city Mumbai.
To a question about his association with Headley, a
sudden agitation is quite evident in Bhatt's voice. "Did I
know Headley? The answer is a yes and a no. The David Headley
that I knew then was a different man and the David who has now
emerged now is a different man...The absolute monster."
Bhatt, a budding actor, said during his conversations
with Headley, there was no chance that he could have been
doubted of having had any terror links. "My father was making
a film on terrorism and I was getting an American perspective
from him (Headley).
"He was not just any American. He was an intelligent man.
He was a well-informed man. A man with high IQ. And like I
said in my dreams I still find it tough to believe that he was
not only a terrorist but a terror jackal...and you imagine the
betrayal... he turns out to be the terrorist jackal. An
absolute monster."
Bhatt, who has been questioned more than twice by
National Investigation Agency, probing the role of Headley and
his Pakistani-Canadian associate Tahawwur Rana, said that
Headley had called him a month after the 26/11 attack.
"A month after 26/11 when he had called me and sounded
very concerned. He was a great actor. I would say, imagine the
way he fooled me...acting very concerned whether me and my
family members and Vilas (Varak) and his family members are
all okay and everything is safe...Yeah, that was one month
after 26/11. He made a phone call," recalled Bhatt.
Headley, who was arrested in Chicago on October three
last, has been charged by the FBI with conspiracy of 26/11
terror strike in Mumbai. PTI SKL
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