Solicitor General off to US in connection with Headley access

New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) With the US promising to give
India access to 26/11 accused David Headley, Indian Solicitor
General Gopal Subramaniam on Saturday left for Washington to
discuss legal modalities for it.
Subramaniam's five-day visit is primarily to understand
the US legal system within which India could get access to
Headley, a Pakistani-American national who has confessed to
his involvement in the Mumbai attacks, sources said.
He will discuss with officials of the US Justice
Department modalities for access to Headley, a Lashkar-e-Taiba
operative, in an appropriate legal format.
The sources pointed out that the legal system in the US
was different than that of India and hence there was need to
understand it properly and move ahead accordingly.
India wants to question Headley in a manner that his
statement would be acceptable in a court of law here. In this
regard, a chargesheet would also be required to be filed
against Headley in India.
Significantly, Subramaniam is travelling to the US soon
after Indian Prime Minister Mannohan Singh's visit there last
week during which he raised the Headley issue with President
Barack Obama.
The issue was also discussed when National Security
Adviser Shvishankar Menon met his US counterpart James Jones
subsequently.
Sources later said India has got "very high-level"
assurances from the US Government that it will get access to
the Pakistani-American terrorist.
Headley, who was arrested in October last, has entered
into a plea bargain with the US government wherein he has
offered to be available to foreign investigators through
deposition, video conferencing or letters rogatory.
Subramaniam had earlier advised the government to settle
for nothing less than Headley's extradition to ensure his
thorough custodial interrogation.
Headley has told his America interrogators that he had
several times conducted recce for the Mumbai attacks. He has
also revealed that a serving Pakistani Army Major had given
training to him in Pakistan.
India wants access to unravel the entire conspiracy
regarding the Mumbai attacks and plans for further attacks by
the LeT. PTI AKK
PRS


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