India can quiz 26/11 convict Headley in US

Chicago, Mar 19 : Despite Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative David Coleman Headley being assured about no extradition to India, the Indian authorities can have access to him in the United States and question him with respect to all the charges levelled on him.

Headley, who has been charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for conspiring in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has pleaded guilty to all 12 charges levelled against him in a US court.

It is reported that Headley struck a deal with US prosecutors, which concludes him not being extradited to India and not receiving the death penalty.

The admissions were made as part of a plea agreement that brought U.S. prosecutors one of the most significant convictions since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, with Headley agreeing to testify against his Canadian co-accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana in exchange for being spared the death penalty or future extradition to India.

The agreement says that when directed by the United States Attorney''s Office, he will fully and truthfully testify in any foreign judicial proceedings held in the United States by way of deposition, video-conferencing or letters rogatory.

This indicates that he can be questioned in the United States under American supervision.

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai had on Thursday said that India would lodge a protest if Headley is let off lightly, adding that New Delhi would continue to demand access Headley.

Forty-nine-year-old Headley is accused of being a scout for the deadly 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in which at least 166 people, including six Americans, were killed and for a plot to kill a Danish cartoonist.