New Delhi:
David Coleman Headley, the Lashkar-e-Toiba operative who played a key role in the 26/11 terror plot, is now set to plead guilty after presumably striking a deal with US authorities.
(Read: David Headley to plead guilty in US court)He's expected to do so at the court hearing in Chicago on Thursday. He had pleaded not guilty in December when he was formally charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
He's now unlikely to face the death penalty. For many the guilty plea deal may not come as a surprise given the reports that Headley was a former undercover agent for US agencies.
But Headley's expected guilty plea and its impact does not affect India's position, government sources have told NDTV.
India wants access to Headley to question him and still wants his extradition.
(Read: Will David Headley be extradited to India?)India does need to file a chargesheet against Headley for his role in 26/11 and other terror related activities, but a final view has not been taken yet.
Sources say the government is waiting for the full facts to emerge and ascertain on what counts Headley is pleading guilty.
Also there is a legal view that filing a chargesheet against Headley may affect the case against Kasab.
Home Minister P Chidambaram had earlier stressed India's need to get access to quiz Headley soon after the Pune blasts.
The German Bakery in Pune which was targeted by the terrorists was recced by David Headley.
'Irrespective of what happened in Pune, the government of India is pursuing the case of access to David Headley but that is tied up in a lot of legal problems. He has been indicted by a grand jury in Chicago. There are number of legal problems there but we have not given up our case that we must be given access to Headley for interrogation,' Chidambaram had said.
Let's take a closer look at the charges against David Headley:
· Headley is charged with conspiracy involving bombing public places in India
· Murdering and maiming persons in India and Denmark
· Aiding and abetting the murder of US citizens in India during the 26/11 attacks
· Providing material support to foreign terrorist plots
· Providing material support to terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
· The chargesheet mentions Headley attended terrorist training camps in Pakistan
· He conducted extensive surveillance of targets in India for more than two years before the 26/11 attack
· The chargesheet had details of five trips he made to India between September 2006 and July 2008
· He scouted for sites, took photographs for 26/11 and went back to Pakistan to share them with 26/11 handlers