E-Paper
Headley revelations prompt govt to put states on terror alert
As investigations revealed David Headley's several visits to India, the Centre today asked five states, including Delhi and Maharashtra, to be on alert as the suspected terrorist may have done a recce of some vital installations for carrying out strikes.
As investigations revealed David Headley's several visits to India, the Centre today asked five states, including Delhi and Maharashtra, to be on alert as the suspected terrorist may have done a recce of some vital installations for carrying out strikes.
Home Ministry sources said the alerts had been issued as a precautionary measure to the states after it was found
during investigations that Headley had visited India nine times during 2006-09.
During his trips to India, Headley, who has been arrested by the FBI on October 3 on charges of conspiring to carry out terror strikes in and outside the US, had visited Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Agra and Delhi besides establishing an office in
Mumbai.
The sources said Headley, a US national, had done a recce of National Defence College and vital installations in other
cities.
The need to issue the alerts came in anticipation that Headley could have established sleeper cells in these states,
they said.
He was also conducting recruitment of cadres for Pakistan-based terror group Lashker-e-Taiba, for sending them
to a Gulf country using the services of his immigration business set up in Mumbai.
"Additionally, further investigations regarding the full scope of the two defendants' activity is ongoing and includes
gaining assistance from foreign authorities," the FBI said, without indicating which these intelligence agencies are.
Officials familiar with the probe, however, told PTI that a team of Indian intelligence officials last week visited
Washington and had a series of meetings with their FBI counterparts during which the US intelligence officials shared
their investigation and interrogation details with them.
The FBI said it needed more time to complete its investigations given the nature of investigation, including
the time required to examine the evidence collected during execution of the search warrants and analysis and translation
of the intercepted communication, coordinating with foreign authorities.
