Concerned India discusses Headley case with US
By IANSThursday, March 18, 2010
NEW DELHI/CHICAGO - India Thursday said it was concerned that Mumbai terror suspect David Headley was to change his plea to guilty, even as New Delhi awaited his statement in a Chicago court.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram met US intelligence chief Dennis C. Blair to convey New Delhi’s concerns.
If Pakistani-American Headley pleads guilty, it would affirm the suspicions of many in the security establishment in India that Headley was a double agent who worked for the CIA.
Headley, arrested by the FBI in October last year, has moved a plea bargain at a Chicago court which will come up for hearing Thursday night before US District Judge Harry Leinenweber.
The Headley issue figured in discussions when US National Intelligence Director Blair, along with US ambassador Timothy J. Roemer, met the home minister Thursday ahead of Headley’s court appearance.
The meeting was called to discuss cooperation between India and the US on counter-terrorism, the envoy said.
“We are waiting for Headley’s statement,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters here.
Krishna skirted a question on whether India will seek the extradition of Headley, accused of providing support to the Pakistani terrorists who went on a killing spree in Mumbai in November 2008.
“The home ministry will be in a better position to tell you about it,” was Krishna’s reply. “We are watching today’s proceedings very closely.”
Earlier, India had sought access to Headley to interrogate him on his role in the Mumbai carnage.
Intelligence agencies in India are trying to figure out whether Headley’s purported move is part of a proffer agreement he has struck with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The home ministry has suspected that Headley was a CIA agent who infiltrated the Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba terror group before becoming a double agent. It feels its fears will be vindicated if Headley pleads guilty and manages a lighter sentence.
Headley faces six counts of conspiracy involving bombing of public places in India, murdering and maiming people in India and abroad and providing logistical support to terror groups.
He also faces six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of six American citizens in India.
A US court said Wednesday that Headley was scheduled for a plea-bargaining hearing Thursday before US District Judge Harry Leinenweber.
Headley, also accused of plotting attacks against a Danish newspaper, originally pleaded not guilty to 12 charges in connection with attacks in India.
