Desperately seeking Headley,still the key to 26/11 probe

Headley has entered into a plea bargain with US authorities preventing his extradition to India,Pakistan or Denmark. The Indian side is expected to argue that the bargain is “a derogation of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) and the extradition treaty between US and India”.

Until Headley’s arrest,investigators only had claims about the LeT’s involvement in the 2008 attack. He has since provided details on the roles of Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi,the logistics,and the training that went into the preparation for the attack.

After a Delhi court recently took cognisance of the NIA chargesheet,special public prosecutor Dayan Krishnan said,“The prosecution (NIA) will bring Headley for extradition.” In court,he said,“We do not recognise the plea agreement between the US and Headley. It is a derogation of the MLAT and extradition treaty between India and the US. We are only relying on the part of the plea agreement where Headley admits his guilt.”

Investigators say Headley can provide information not only about the working of the LeT but also about the al-Qaida because of his brief association with Illyas Kashmiri. Headley is said to have met one of Kashmiri’s European contacts before finalising an attack on Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. What is still a secret to investigators,both in the US and in India,is Headley’s connection with other Islamic organisations in Pakistan and FATA,and the role of Headley’s handlers,Sajid Majid alias Sajid Mir and Major Iqbal.

Before he came to be known as an international terrorist and a spy,Headley had begun as a drug peddler. He faces separate sets of charges from the NIA and the FBI.

NIA charges

Formed to probe and establish the “larger conspiracy” behind 26/11,the NIA registered its case against Headley two months after his arrest,after it had been established that the conspiracy had been hatched abroad. The chargesheet against Headley and eight others came after three years of investigation.

The key point of difference is that unlike the FBI’s indictment,the NIA chargesheet has included the name of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed,describing him as the mastermind of the conspiracy. The NIA has also sent a letter rogatory each to Pakistan and Morocco.

The NIA’s chargesheet mentions the role of Headley’s second wife,Faiza Oualha. “The visits made by David Coleman Headley and his second wife Faiza Outalha between April-May 2007 were the cover for Headley’s surveillance of Taj Mahal and Oberoi Trident hotels,” it says.

The NIA has also detailed a conversation between Headley and his first wife Shazia Gilani,who is now said to be in the US. In an email to Shazia at haidergilani@hotmail.com,Headley is said to have discussed the plan to attack Mumbai. The NIA says,however,that Shazia herself was not part of the conspiracy; the conversation between husband and wife falls under “privileged conversation” and cannot be treated as evidence.

The NIA says the conspiracy started in 2005 with a visit by Sajid Mir. According to the probe,Mir first visited India in April 2005 under a fake passport (KE 381676) issued in the name of Mohammad Awan,and with a visa procured on the ground of watching an India-Pakistan cricket match. The chargesheet says it was Mir who tasked Headley with carrying out surveillance of various targets,including the Taj Mahal hotel,Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal,the Siddhivinayak temple and Shiv Sena Bhavan. In March-April 2008,Mir is said to have provided Headley a GPS device and instructed him to record the locations of possible landing sites for the attackers.

FBI indictment

Headley has been charged on twelve counts including 26/11 and the 2009 Denmark plot. The FBI has given details of five training sessions that Headley attended with the LeT between 2002 and 2005,with the first plans to attack Mumbai having started in 2005.

“In or around February 2006,in order to facilitate his activities on behalf of Lashkar by portraying himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani,defendant changed his name from Daood Gilani,” the indictment says.

Headley travelled to India and stayed in Mumbai under the cover of helping his friend Tahawwur Hussain in an immigration business. He has been charged with conducting extensive video surveillance of various locations including the Taj Mahal hotel. The FBI investigations have found that the Lashkar eventually targeted all places that Headley surveyed on his last visit,in July 2008. These were the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels,Chabad House,CST and Leopold Café; Headley has also been charged with surveying potential landing sites for the attackers. The eventual landing site of the 10 gunmen was apparently where Headley had suggested,going against Lashkar planners who had wanted them to land opposite Taj Mahal hotel. The FBI has charged Headley with the murder of six US nationals during the Mumbai attacks.

Headley has also been charged with carrying out additional surveillance in Delhi in March 2009 and other Indian cities after the Mumbai attacks.

The bargain

Headley has pleaded guilty to all charges and,according to the plea agreement,the maximum sentence is life imprisonment or death. Because of his cooperation,the US authorities have decided not to press for the death penalty. In addition,Headley is liable to a maximum fine of $3,000,000,or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offences of conviction.

While disposing of the plea agreement between the US attorney and Headley,the court observed,“Since the time of his arrest on October 3,2009 and to date,defendant has provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation and has also provided information of significant value…” In the same agreement,the court ruled out the possibility of Headley’s extradition to either India,Denmark or Pakistan.