Despite US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer's assertion to the contrary, Washington will allow New Delhi to access David Headley once before the trial and once during the trial in India after the Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist is chargesheeted in the Mumbai attack case.
According to top officials, US Attorney General Eric Holder had assured Chidambaram that access would be allowed to Headley both at the pre-trial and during the trial of the case registered against Headley in India after a legal request is sent to Washington.
Although Roemer said on March 22 that the US State Department had not yet taken a decision to allow India access to Headley, North Block made it clear to him that he had little say in the matter. In fact, Roemer apparently called up Home Secretary G K Pillai to clarify his statement, but the latter said India was proceeding as per discussions between Chidambaram and Holder.
Government sources said the letter to the US Justice Department, which was framed over the weekend by the Attorney General, would be sent to Washington, probably this Wednesday. Home Minister P Chidambaram is expected to finalise the contents after returning from his constituency Sivaganga on Tuesday evening. The letter will seek access to Headley so that a magistrate from India can record his statement in the 26/11 case. As of now, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) only has the statement given by Headley to FBI and no direct access.
While the NIA sleuths in consultation with the Indian law officers are framing questions to be put to Headley, New Delhi is keen to establish the identity of the Pakistan-based 26/11 handlers and the future attacks being planned by LeT against India. Along with the identities of those known as A, B, C and D LeT operatives in the Headley plea bargain, India also wants to know the role of the ISI in operationalising the Mumbai attack. The Headley testimony shows that it took nearly three years for Lashkar to plan the attack on Mumbai.
PM not serious about access: BJP
PATNA: BJP general secretary and chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday said the UPA government was "not at all serious about securing the custodial access for interrogation of David Coleman Headley", mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. "Dr Manmohan Singh's priorities are misplaced and it creates only a sense of insecurity in the country," he told The Indian Express.
Prasad said "there was a clear lack of diplomatic initiatives by the PM on the Headley episode".