Chicago:
Till earlier this week, the big new development in the case of terror suspect David Headley was the question of his real identity - was Headley, as reported by NDTV and international media, a CIA agent who had switched sides to plot the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai?
But now, India has another mystery to solve. Are Headley's visa papers missing from Chicago, where the Indian Consulate granted him a five- year multiple-entry visa in 2007?
The government has different versions. Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, told reporters on Thursday morning that Headley's documents were indeed missing. Hours later, a spokesperson for his own ministry contradicted Tharoor saying, "It would not be accurate to conclude that these visa applications are missing." Meanwhile, Tharoor's boss, S M Krishna, said, "We have asked for a preliminary report from the Consul General in Chicago. After I get the report, we will see how we can proceed with it. I would not prejudge anything that has appeared in media."
In Chicago, Consul General Ashok Kumar Attri, issued this carefully-worded statement to NDTV, "We have not reported the loss of any papers regarding the issuance of visa to David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana Hussain." Attri told NDTV that all proper procedures were followed in issuing visas to the two men.
According to Tharoor, Rana's papers "have been found." Rana and Headley were both arrested by the FBI in Chicago in October. They made multiple trips to India before 26/11. US prosecutors have charged Headley with helping to plan and execute the Mumbai attacks as an undercover agent of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). Recent evidence submitted against Rana in a Chicago court proves him complimenting the LeT on the 26/11 attacks.
The National Investigation Agency is currently probing the visa application process for Headley and Rana as part of its investigation into their roles in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. According to the Chicago Consulate, the relevant information concerning the issuance of visas to these persons is available with the government of India. (Read: India cancels visas of Headley and Rana)
The visa papers are important because they could help Indian officials to trace Headley's local contacts. They could also help investigators trying desperately to trace the journey of Headley from a Pakistani teenager named Daood Gilani to one of India's most-wanted men based in Chicago with an extensive network of terror contacts across the world.
By America's own admission, Headley took photographs and videos of the four sites that would later come under siege by Pakistani terrorists.
India is unhappy that despite these charges, Indian officials have not been allowed to meet Headley. America has also said that it's "too premature" to discuss Headley's possible extradition to India after his US trial is completed.
What's more worrying for India is that America's surveillance of Headley began in September last year, before the 26/11 attacks. Yet, no information on him was shared with India. America clearly had specific intelligence reports about the possibility of Mumbai hotels being targeted by terrorists - the Taj was mentioned in the warning passed on to India. But Headley did not figure in this alert.
Worse, India was not told about Headley even when he visited the country in March this year, supposedly to plan a new round of terror attacks. Instead, America waited till after Headley's arrest to share intelligence on him.
Sources say India suspects that Headley was enrolled as a spy after he was arrested for smuggling heroin in 1988. Did America then use him to infiltrate Pakistan's narcotics underworld? And did Headley use that as a cover to start working for Pakistani terrorists against India?
For Indian officials struggling to answer these gigantic questions, every small clue is vital at this stage - that's why the suggestion that Headley's papers are missing adds to their nightmare.
But now, India has another mystery to solve. Are Headley's visa papers missing from Chicago, where the Indian Consulate granted him a five- year multiple-entry visa in 2007?
The government has different versions. Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, told reporters on Thursday morning that Headley's documents were indeed missing. Hours later, a spokesperson for his own ministry contradicted Tharoor saying, "It would not be accurate to conclude that these visa applications are missing." Meanwhile, Tharoor's boss, S M Krishna, said, "We have asked for a preliminary report from the Consul General in Chicago. After I get the report, we will see how we can proceed with it. I would not prejudge anything that has appeared in media."
In Chicago, Consul General Ashok Kumar Attri, issued this carefully-worded statement to NDTV, "We have not reported the loss of any papers regarding the issuance of visa to David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana Hussain." Attri told NDTV that all proper procedures were followed in issuing visas to the two men.
According to Tharoor, Rana's papers "have been found." Rana and Headley were both arrested by the FBI in Chicago in October. They made multiple trips to India before 26/11. US prosecutors have charged Headley with helping to plan and execute the Mumbai attacks as an undercover agent of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). Recent evidence submitted against Rana in a Chicago court proves him complimenting the LeT on the 26/11 attacks.
The National Investigation Agency is currently probing the visa application process for Headley and Rana as part of its investigation into their roles in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. According to the Chicago Consulate, the relevant information concerning the issuance of visas to these persons is available with the government of India. (Read: India cancels visas of Headley and Rana)
The visa papers are important because they could help Indian officials to trace Headley's local contacts. They could also help investigators trying desperately to trace the journey of Headley from a Pakistani teenager named Daood Gilani to one of India's most-wanted men based in Chicago with an extensive network of terror contacts across the world.
By America's own admission, Headley took photographs and videos of the four sites that would later come under siege by Pakistani terrorists.
India is unhappy that despite these charges, Indian officials have not been allowed to meet Headley. America has also said that it's "too premature" to discuss Headley's possible extradition to India after his US trial is completed.
What's more worrying for India is that America's surveillance of Headley began in September last year, before the 26/11 attacks. Yet, no information on him was shared with India. America clearly had specific intelligence reports about the possibility of Mumbai hotels being targeted by terrorists - the Taj was mentioned in the warning passed on to India. But Headley did not figure in this alert.
Worse, India was not told about Headley even when he visited the country in March this year, supposedly to plan a new round of terror attacks. Instead, America waited till after Headley's arrest to share intelligence on him.
Sources say India suspects that Headley was enrolled as a spy after he was arrested for smuggling heroin in 1988. Did America then use him to infiltrate Pakistan's narcotics underworld? And did Headley use that as a cover to start working for Pakistani terrorists against India?
For Indian officials struggling to answer these gigantic questions, every small clue is vital at this stage - that's why the suggestion that Headley's papers are missing adds to their nightmare.
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