India likely to get access to Headley, Rana

India may get access for the second time to Mumbai attack terrorist David Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana, currently in the custody of the United States, for questioning. The positive indication was given by Washington to New Delhi during a recent bilateral meeting held in America.

Government sources said following New Delhi's consistent persuasion, the United States has indicated to interlocutors that India could be given access to Headley, who carried out a recce of the 26/11 targets for the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba, for the second time to get more information about the conspiracy hatched to carry out the 2008 attack.

The US, which has not given any opportunity to question Rana, may also allow Indian investigators to question the Pakistani-Canadian, who was sentenced by an American court for his involvement in a terror plot in Denmark.

Indian investigators believe that if they could quiz Rana, many hidden information could come into light as Rana was a close associate of his Pakistani-American friend Headley.

The investigators believe that Headley and Rana have a lot of information and their interrogations could throw more light on the conspiracy hatched to carry out the worst terror strike in India and role of those behind it.

Fifty-five-year-old Headley had pleaded guilty to 12 terrorism charges, including his involvement in the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that claimed 166 lives. He had, however, entered into plea bargain with US authorities.

A court in the US had sentenced 52-year-old Rana to 14 years in jail followed by five years of supervised release. Rana was convicted for providing material support to LeT and for backing a "dastardly" plot to attack a Danish newspaper but not convicted for the Mumbai terror attack despite being a close associate of Headley.