Heeding the FBI’s call to grant it some more time to probe a failed LeT terror plot in India, a U.S. court has given it another two months to file indictment against David Coleman Headley, a key suspect in the case.
The Chief Judge of a Chicago court, James F. Holderman, extended till January 1, 2010, the date of filing indictment for 49-year-old Headley, who was arrested along with Pakistani-origin Canadian citizen Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, last month by FBI, which unearthed a major plan by Pakistan-based LeT to carry out terror attacks in India and Denmark
“This court finds that the ends of justice served by extension weigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial because the failure to grant such an extension would deny the government the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation of the evidence for presentation to the grand jury, taking into account the exercise of due diligence,” Judge Holderman said in his order.
The court order came soon after the FBI, on October 30, urged it to give the agency more time to complete the investigation and file the indictment, arguing that on October 18, federal agents executed four search warrants at four separate locations, and among other items of evidence, seized a number of computers.
The FBI told the court that its agents are “diligently examining the evidence.”
“Additionally, further investigations regarding the full scope of the two defendants’ activity is ongoing and includes gaining assistance from foreign authorities,” the FBI said, without indicating which these intelligence agencies are.
Officials familiar with the probe, however, told PTI that a team of Indian intelligence officials last week visited Washington and had a series of meetings with their FBI counterparts during which the U.S. intelligence officials shared their investigation and interrogation details with them.
The FBI said it needed more time to complete its investigations given the nature of investigation, including the time required to examine the evidence collected during execution of the search warrants and analysis and translation of the intercepted communication, coordinating with foreign authorities.
