David Headley not one to be influenced by jihadi elements: Rahul Bhatt

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul, who came into the spotlight for his acquaintance with David Coleman Headley, doesn't think the terror convict charged with scouting targets for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks is one to be influenced by jihadi elements."The investigators have spent just 30 hours speaking to Headley. I have spent 1,000 hours with him. I don't think he is one to be influenced by jihadi elements," Rahul said today."Headley has been made a 'fall guy' for the Americans, the CIA," Rahul told PTI, when asked if Headley was innocent."There is a much deeper issue. Headley is not what he is made out to be," he said.Headley has a 'mind of his own', Rahul said."I come from a family of intellectuals. My father is a tough man, but nobody could push David Headley's buttons. He was a very sharp man," he said.Rahul confirmed that the mobile number allegedly mentioned in Headley's diary belonged to him, till three months ago. "Yes, the number did belong to me till three months ago. I surrendered it due to personal reasons," he said. Asked when was the last time he spoke to Headley on that number, Rahul said their last conversation was around one and a half years ago, during the swine flu outbreak in India."What he has said... these are all his voluntary confessions. I refuse to believe the theory that he was arrested in AfPak region," he said."What is surprising is that no one in media is investigating this theory," he said.The FBI put Headley on surveillance after the (terror) attacks, Rahul said."Headley was trained by Americans in the art of surveillance and was sent in  by their Drug Enforcement Agency," he said, claiming that Headley was a "CIA terrorist"."He was not a jihadi element, who believed in sacrificing 1,000 lives," Rahul said."In fact, we used to joke with him, calling him "Agent Headley" because we suspected him to be a CIA guy," he said.