US to give India access to Headley, NIA to prepare queries

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) US Saturday assured India that
it can interrogate terror accused David Headley following
which Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram directed the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) to prepare the questions for him.
Chidambaram also said that Headley has admitted to
conspiring with Lashkar-e-Toiba members and to attending their
camps which should now "spur" Pakistan to take action against
all the conspirators and bring them to justice.
US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake told
reporters here that Headley will not not be extradited to
India or anywhere in the case under trial in Chicago but did
not not rule out such a possibility on any "future charges".
He said "yes" to a question whether Indian
investigators would be provided access to interrogate Headley
who has entered into a plea bargaining with the US government
on 12 counts of indictment including the conspiracy behind the
26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, US Attorney General and Head of the
Department of Justice Eric Holder spoke to Chidambaram late
last evening and clarified to him about a number of aspects
concerning Headley's plea bargaining.
"It is my understanding that India would be able to
obtain access to Headley to question him in a properly-
constituted judicial proceeding. Such judicial proceeding
could be pre-trial or during an inquiry or trial," the Indian
Home Minister said in a statement this morning.
"It is also my understanding that Headley is obliged
to cooperate fully and truthfully in such proceedings," he
said.
Chidambaram said Saturday he has directed NIA and
other agencies concerned in the case to quickly prepare
documents necessary to start a judicial proceeding in which
Indian authorities could require Headley to answer questions
and to testify. (More) PTI