David Headley is currently serving 35 years in an American prison after being convicted of being involved in the planning and execution of 26/11 terror attack. (File Photo)
A Mumbai court has pardoned terrorist David Headley, who has turned approver, or a prosecution witness, in the 26/11 case. The court laid several conditions before Headley, accused of conspiracy in the 2008 attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai. The Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, who testified via video-conferencing from an undisclosed location in the US, has accepted. He will appear before the court next on February 8.
Here are the latest developments:
The court said David Headley should disclose the "full and true facts" leading to 26/11 attacks; he should also reveal the role he and others played in the attacks.
Headley should disclose the facts he has already admitted before the court in Illinois and reveal if any of the attackers were involved in other attacks in India, the court also said.
Accepting his role in the attacks, Headley, who is serving a 35-year jail term in the US for the 26/11 attacks, said, "I pleaded guilty in the past to the charges in the US and I admitted I was a participant in these charges... I appear here ready to answer questions regarding these events, if I receive a pardon from this court."
In December 2011, the National Investigation Agency had filed a charge-sheet accusing Headley, his Pakistani-Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Rana, Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed and seven others of conspiracy. The charge carries death penalty.
Atul Kulkarni, senior police officer of Mumbai, told NDTV, "After weighing the pros and cons, we decided we will get more from him (Headley) by having him as an approver than as an accused considering his plea bargain agreement in the US. All the necessary people have been kept in the loop."
The police wants to question Headley regarding the involvement of Pakistan army and its Inter-Services Intelligence.
Earlier, during his questioning by officers of India's National Investigation agency, Headley allegedly said three senior Pakistan army officers played a prime role in the 26/11 attacks.
The same Pakistani officers were reportedly named by Lashkar terrorist Abu Jundal, the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 attacks, against whom charges were framed last month in Mumbai.
Pakistan has repeatedly rejected the charge that its army officers were involved in the attacks. It put seven men on trial, including Lashkar commander Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi. The trial has been on for seven years, raising charges of tardiness from India. Earlier this year, Lakhvi was granted bail, creating fresh tension between Pakistan and India.
Headley was arrested in October 2009 from Chicago while on his way to Pakistan. In 2013, he was sentenced by a US court for his role in the 26/11 attacks. In his memoirs written from jail, he had detailed the 2009 attack from the planning stage.
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