President Barrack Obama is despatching a high-level FBI team to India in a week to share “all details” of its probe into the plans and network of US terror suspect David Headley and his Pakistani—Canadian associate Tahawwur Rana.
National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan on Sunday said Mr. Obama has told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that he was seized of the case related to Headley and Rana, the two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives arrested by the FBI on the charges of plotting attacks in India at the behest of the Pakistan-based terror outfit.
Mr. Obama told Dr. Singh during their summit talks in Washington on Tuesday that he would be sending a high-level FBI team to India within a week with “all details”, Narayanan told journalists accompanying the Prime Minister on his return home from a two-nation tour of U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago.
The team is expected to give exhaustive details about the plans of Headley and Rana and their network in India.
“Let us see what information they share,” Mr. Narayanan said.
Headley, a Pakistani-born American, and Rana were arrested by the FBI in October on the charges of plotting attacks in India and Denmark.
According to U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones, Mr. Obama has shown personal interest in the Headley-Rana case and the matter was discussed during his meeting with Mr. Singh.
Indian officials suspect that Headley and Rana could have been involved in the 26/11 attacks but there is no evidence in this regard so far.
The US has told India that it has zeroed-in on a Pakistani national who could have been a link between Headley and Rana and their Pakistan-based handlers.
Indian investigators wanted to interrogate Headley and Rana and a team from New Delhi had gone to the US earlier this month. But the US did not give access citing legal compulsions.
However, sources downplayed this saying India understands the compulsions and will "work around that". The sources also said Mr. Obama has promised to provide all details about Headley-Rana investigations to India.
According to Mr. Jones, "It(Headley-Rana case) is something that the President and the Prime Minister discussed and both of them were very satisfied with the outcome of those discussions."
Mr. Jones told PTI in an interview in Washington that Mr. Obama has given instructions to US authorities to share the information with India regarding the Headley-Rana case, despite the limitation posed by the country's legal system.
"At the President's direction we have been very forthcoming with our Indian counterparts on sharing whatever information we have which might be of some assistance to (India)," Mr. Jones said, adding "as a result of the President's guidance, we are doing as much as we can legally, without jeopardising the process of the case."
He, however, said the US was unable to allow Indian investigators access to the arrested LeT operatives because certain aspects of the legal system here protect the rights of the accused.
During his meeting with Mr. Obama, Dr. Singh had expressed concern over "new hubs" of terrorism coming up in India's neighbourhood, the sources said.
