Chicago: After a week of what they describe as "extensive interviews", Indian officials have completed their interrogation of David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American who, it is presumed, can provide information imperative to India's investigation of its worst-ever terror attack, 26/11.
The four-member team of the National Investigating Agency is now headed back to India.
Getting access to Headley, who pleaded guilty in March to charges that include helping to plan and execute 26/11, remained a point of friction between America and India for several months. Headley was arrested by the FBI in Chicago in October last year. His plea bargain with America included the guarantee that he would not be extradited to India or face the death penalty.
In multiple visits to India between 2006 and 2009, Headley staked out the places that would be targeted by the Lashkar-e-Toiba during 26/11. He also surveyed places like Pune's German Bakery, which was attacked last year with a bomb that killed 17 people. He reported on his surveys to handlers in Pakistan, often in emails that were intercepted by the FBI.
Statements issued by America and India after Headley's questioning are finely-coordinated and highlight a collaborative commitment to fighting international terrorism. "The Headley interviews were historic in the nature of security cooperation," said Timothy J. Roemer, the US Ambassador to India.
According to US authorities, there were no restrictions on the questions posed by Indian investigators.
But how much information Headley yielded during his sessions with the visiting Indians, or the importance of it, may never be public. India and the US have agreed not to disclose the contents of the interviews to protect the confidentiality of the investigations being conducted by the two countries. For many who have, however, raised the allegation that Headley was a US agent who went rogue, this could be another sign that America is trying to cover its tracks.