Decision on Headley access yet to be taken: US

Decision on Headley access yet to be taken: US

New Delhi: US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer today said a decision on granting India direct access to terror suspect David Coleman Headley was yet to be taken.

Mr Roemer, in a statement clarifying US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O. Blake's comments on the issue said, "As the Assistant Secretary indicated, the US is committed to full information sharing in our counter terror partnership and in fact in this case we have provided substantial information to the Government of India and we will continue to do so.

However, no decision on direct access for India to David Headley has been made. The US Department of Justice will work with the Government of India regarding the modalities of such cooperation.

Mr Blake, commenting on Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement that India will continue to press for Headley's extradition, told reporters here on March 20, ''The question that has been raised is whether Indian investigators will be allowed access to Headley to learn more about his involvement...(in the attacks) and the answer is yes.''

Headley was arrested in the United States in October last year for terror related activities including allegedly acting as a scout for the Lashkar-e-Taiba to selected targets for the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and being involved in the plot to murder the cartoonist of a newspaper in Denmark for publishing a derogatory cartoon on the Prophet Mohammed.

He had recently filed a plea bargain in a Chicago court, pleading guilty on 12 counts including his role in the Mumbai terror attack.