US teams brief Indian investigators on Headley-Rana role in 26/11

A joint team of US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) today briefed Indian investigators on American terror suspect David Headley's alleged role in last year's Mumbai terror strike.

The team held discussions with the officials of the home ministry and National Investigating Agency (NIA), which is probing the role in India of Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian both of whom were arrested by FBI in October this year for plotting terror attacks in India and Denmark.

Besides sharing the interrogation report including his "role" in 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, US Embassy spokespeson here Elizabeth Fitzsimmons said the joint team also briefed the Indian investigators on Headley's alleged role in plotting an attack on a newspaper in Denmark.

"This in fulfilment of US president Barack Obama's committment to Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh during his recent visit to the US to cooperate closely in the case," the US spokesperson said.

The team, after exchanging the views with their Indian counterparts, will be travelling to Pakistan to meet the authorities in Islamabad. "We ae working with Pakistani officials to follow up on leads regarding Headley's activties and connections in that country," the spokesperson said.

"We have been consulting closely with Pakistani authorities on this case, following the practices developed in previous high-profile counter terrorism investigations," the spokesperson said. According to sources, the FBI gave some information about Headley and also assured Indian probe agencies that they would share more of it as the interrogation of the two progressed in the US as well as in Pakistan.

Indian agencies have sought all details of Headley's links with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul, gym instructor Vilas Varak, some diplomats and business personalities who were allegedly "misused" by the terror suspect, they said.

Headley and Rana were arrested by FBI in Chicago in October for allegedly plotting terror strikes in Denmark and India. However, Rana's advocate had denied the allegations made against his client.

NIA has already recorded statements of various people, including Varak, during which he told the investigators about the activities of Headley.

The US terror suspect had changed his name to Headley from Daood Gilani in 2006 to avoid suspicion. The probe agency wanted to undertake detailed questioning of Headley and Rana and a team from New Delhi had gone to the US earlier this month.

But the Indian probe agencies were denied access to the terror suspects by US authorities because of legal necessities.