{
  "id": 11732892,
  "title": "How India Got David Headley To Testify In 26/11 Case: Ujjwal Nikam Reveals Strategy That Turned LeT Operative Into Approver",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/how-india-got-david-headley-to-testify-in-26-11-case-ujjwal-nikam",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-03T17:07:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/how-india-got-david-headley-to-testify-in-2611-case-ujjwal-nikam-reveals-strategy-that-turned-let-operative-into-approver"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "India successfully persuaded David Headley, an American-Pakistani terrorist and Lashkar-e-Taiba operative, to testify in the 26/11 Mumbai attack case. David Headley, who conducted critical surveillance for the attacks, was arrested in 2009 and later provided intelligence to Indian and US authorities. He was sentenced to 35 years in a US prison. Ujjwal Nikam, the Special Public Prosecutor who led the prosecution, explained to Charul Shah Joshi how Headley was brought into the Indian judicial process as an approver. Initial resistance to this proposal came from Mumbai police officials and stakeholders in the Central Government, but after negotiations, Headley was made an approver and began testifying before a Mumbai court in January 2016. His testimony provided significant pieces of the puzzle and helped bring the conspirators to justice.",
  "summary": "How did India get David Coleman Headley to testify in the 26/11 attack case? Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who led the prosecution, tells Charul Shah Joshi how Headley, an American-Pakistani terrorist and Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who conducted critical surveillance for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, was brought into the Indian judicial process as an approver. Headley was arrested in 2009. He…",
  "key_points": [
    "David Headley, Lashkar-e-Taiba operative, testified in 26/11 Mumbai attack case.",
    "Ujjwal Nikam led prosecution, turning Headley into an approver after negotiations.",
    "Headley's testimony helped bring conspirators to justice."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}