`Somnath temple, Bollywood, Shiv Sena leaders on LeT hit list`

Lalit K Jha and Yoshita Singh
Washington/Chicago, Dec 15 (PTI) A wider plot to create
mayhem in India has unfolded as the FBI said Pakistan-based
LeT planned to target Bollywood stars, Shiv Sena leaders and
the Somnath temple in India's western state of Gujarat with
the help of arrested terror suspects David Headley and
Tahawwur Rana.
The disclosure was made by the FBI in a footnote to the
fresh evidence and chargesheet submitted by it against
49-year-old Pakistani-Canadian Rana, whose bail plea hearing
is set to begin in a Chicago court.
The FBI also said that Rana, who was arrested along with
his school friend Headley in October, "knew well in advance"
that Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists would be striking Mumbai in
November 2008.
In one of their conversations on September 7, 2009,
"Headley discussed four targets with Rana - Somnath and
Denmark, Bollywood and Shiv Sena," the FBI said in a fresh
10-page affidavit, without identifying the individuals by
names.
In his post-arrest statement, Rana "falsely claimed" that
these -- the targets discussed -- were references to potential
business ventures.
"It is difficult to imagine why a person who praises the
work of a designated terrorist group that attacks India would
look at an Indian temple or a Hindu nationalist party as a
business venture," the FBI noted.
Somnath temple, located on western coast of Gujarat, is
the most sacred of the 12 'Jyotirlings' of Lord Shiva and is a
revered pilgrimage centre. (More) PTI