Indian intelligence and security establishment is viewing the sentencing of David Coleman Headley with a “lot of scepticism” with sources indicating that the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba operative’s plea bargain with the US authorities may well be part of a well orchestrated strategy.
Intelligence sources claim Headley’s “weak sentencing” has raised suspicion that the he was indeed working as a double agent for some US agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration and these agencies ensured a lenient verdict for one of the main suspects of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
The plea bargain, sources claim, was nothing more than an exercise to keep Headley insulated from a harsher punishment like a death sentence.
The Indian security establishment suspects that Headley may well have been in touch with some of his handlers in US intelligence agencies in the run up to the Mumbai massacre. Thus, sources feel that there is a very strong possibility of some of the US agencies being aware of Lashkar’s plan to hit Mumbai.
“The only logical reason why the US authorities are not keen on extraditing Headley to India is that they fear he might spill the beans on the Mumbai terror attack. In custodial interrogation Headley could well have revealed to Indian security agencies that his US handlers were aware of his activities in the 26/11 incident and this could be a major embarrassment for the American operatives. Headley’s 35 years imprisonment in a US jail has no meaning for us,” a senior intelligence official said.
The Indian intelligence agencies have reason to believe that their US counterparts were aware of the nine trips that Headley made to Pakistan immediately after his India visit. During these trips Headley did a detailed recee of Mumbai and other cities including Delhi following which he used to go to Pakistan to report to his associates in Lashkar.
“If US agencies were aware of Headley’s various visit to Pakistan they would surly know why he was there.”
“But obviously they were using him to get information useful for them and not India. The manner in which Headley’s entire trial has been handled proves that it was more of an exercise at shielding him from stricter punishment and India,” the official added.
Even though India will continue to seek Headley’s extradition, sources with New Delhi’s security establishment admit it is a futile exercise. In fact, even Headley’s interrogation by an Indian team comprising members from the National Investigation Agency had yielded much information. At least not anything that Indian agencies were not already aware of, an official added.