Rahul Bhatt, whose life and travel plans were under a cloud after he unknowingly befriended the alleged 26/11 terror attacks mastermind, David Headley, is a much relieved man. He has finally been able to get a US visa, thanks to Aamir Khan’s intervention.
The Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley was arrested in Chicago in 2009, in connection with Laskhar-e-Taiba's terror network. As further revelations emerged, a mysterious name, Rahul, mentioned extensively in the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative's e-mails to handlers in Pakistan was identified as Rahul Bhatt, then a fitness instructor and a body builder. Since then, it became impossible for Rahul to get an American visa.
However, the impossible became possible because of Rahul's association with Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan. Recently, he worked as Aamir's personal trainer for a year during the shooting of Dangal. Rahul has grown up to be one of the best physical trainers in the industry, and hence, Aamir thought of him when he had to develop two distinct body types for his role in Dangal.
Explains Rahul, “We had planned to undertake a part of the physical training in the US. But I was unable to get a US visa. It was thanks to Aamir Khan that the suspicion and distrust on American soil due to my name being associated with Headley was finally overlooked. I succeeded in getting an American visa.”
It is another matter that Aamir and Rahul could not head to the US for training as per plans. “But now, I finally have permission to enter America. I owe Mr Aamir Khan a favour,” says Rahul.
Headley, who recently turned approver in the 26/11 case in the Mumbai court, has also told the court that he had joined Moksh gym in South Mumbai during 2006-2007 and developed relations with Vilas Warke, who was in-charge of the gym, as well as Rahul Bhatt, who was Vilas’ friend.
LeT called Mumbai ‘Rahul’s city’
The LeT operatives used coded language in their email exchanges, which revealed that the code name they used for Mumbai was ‘Rahul’s city.’ Nearly eight months after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Headley received an email from his Pakistani handler, Sajid Mir, asking him to scout another target in India for future attacks.
“Mir in his mail has said an ‘investment plan’ needs to be made (meaning another location for attack). I told Mir that this time the attack should not be in ‘Rahul’s (Bhatt) city. I referred to Mumbai as Rahul’s city,” Headley told the Mumbai court in his deposition. Sajid Mir also replied that “not in your friend Rahul’s city but some other part?”
