New Delhi, March 20: India is preparing to send a team of Indian officials to the US to interrogate Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Tayyaba operative David Headley following assurances from the US government that Indian sleuths can question him on American soil.

The US assurance came after Headley struck a plea bargain and agreed to cooperate with the US and any foreign government which wants to question him on American soil. US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia Robert Blake on Saturday said Indian investigators would be allowed access to Headley to learn more about his involvement in the Mumbai attacks. “The answer to that is yes,” he said.
On the other hand, the US has said a formal “no” to India as far as Headley’s extradition is concerned. It has also not given any assurance to India on access to Headley’s Canadian accomplice and co-conspirator in the 26/11 terror attack, Tahawwur Rana. Rana is in federal custody in the US since his arrest in October 2009.
Following the assurance from US attorney-general Eric Holder, Union home minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday directed the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and other agencies to “quickly prepare the documents necessary to start a judicial proceeding in which Indian authorities could require Headley to answer questions and to testify”.
“It is my understanding that India would be able to obtain access to Headley to question him in a properly-constituted judicial proceeding. Such judicial proceeding could be pre-trial or during an inquiry or trial,” the Union home minister said, adding he had a long conversation with the US attorney-general who called him to clarify India’s doubts about seeking access to Mr Headley. “It is also my understanding that Headley is obliged to cooperate fully and truthfully in such proceedings,” Mr Chidambaram said in a statement.
Government sources said the “mode” of availing the access provided by the US government is yet to be worked out. “It is more or less clear that a team will go. There are procedures provided in US law and the plea bargain by which we will have access to Headley. The Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the US and India will also be involved,” a government official told this newspaper.
Ruling out Headley’s extradition to India, Mr Blake said the plea bargain holds that “the US would not extradite Mr Headley either to India, Pakistan or Denmark on the charges for which he has now admitted guilt”. The home ministry, however, believes that if it can gather new evidence against Headley to charge him on “fresh” counts, it will again approach the US for his extradition. Mr Blake did not refute such a possibility. “That does not mean that at some future date some additional charges could not be brought and so I don’t want to speculate too much about the possibility of future extradition. But at least on these charges he cannot be extradited,” he maintained.
Mr Chidambaram said there was another aspect of the “plea agreement” which was of enormous significance as it “is the most damning indictment of the role played by certain persons in Pakistan”. He said that the “plea agreement should spur Pakistan to take action against all the conspirators and bring them to justice. Nothing short of that will be acceptable to India or will satisfy world opinion.”
The home minister said Pakistan had been in a state of denial for many months after 26/11. Thereafter, grudgingly and bowing to pressure applied by India through the dossiers and otherwise, Pakistan initiated proceedings against a few of the persons involved in the conspiracy, even while key conspirators remain at large, he said.

Namrata Biji Ahuja and Ramesh Ramachandaran