Seeking to downplay the inability of Indian officials to get access to suspected terrorist David Headley, the government on Tuesday said it received a full report from United States investigators and has advised them on what lines to probe further.
Home Ministry officials said the government received a report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), prepared on the basis of the interrogation of both Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, arrested for alleged involvement in terror activities.
“We now have a full report from the U.S. authorities on the alleged terror plot. There were gaps in the information given through the affidavit. We have also told them on what lines further probe is required,” an official said.
On the inability of the Indian intelligence team, who went to the U.S., to question Headley and Rana, the official said it happened due to “procedural” hurdles and also because both suspects were in jail. “Because of the U.S. law, it would be inappropriate to discuss it in public,” the official said.
Headley, 49, was arrested last month at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Philadelphia, intending to travel to Pakistan. Subsequently, the FBI also arrested Rana, 48, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin.
Headley and Rana were arrested for planning to carry out terrorist activities in and outside the U.S. with the help of Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
During interrogation, they told the FBI that they were planning to carry out terror attacks in India, which included hitting vital installations like the National Defence College in New Delhi and five-star hotels. The FBI shared this information with the Indian government, following which, a team comprising officials of the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing was sent to the Unites States. The team is scheduled to return on Tuesday night, a week after staying there.
