India insists US allow access to Headley for interrogation

Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily has said India has insisted that the US must provide a direct access to its investigators to interrogate Pakistani-American David Headley, who has confessed to plotting the Mumbai terror attacks.

India on Wednesday insisted that US must provide a direct access to its investigators to interrogate Pakistani-American David Headley, who has confessed to plotting the Mumbai terror attacks.

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"....one day or the other, (the) US will have to agree and expedite the issue that Headley will have to undergo
interrogation by our agencies", Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily told reporters, a day after Washington said no decision has been taken to this effect.

Asked if the US denying access to Indian investigators is "unfair" and "unjustified" as the Indian government had
allowed the FBI to interrogate gunman Ajmal Kasab in Mumbai, he said "we don't want to pass a value judgement on their policy and matter".

But Moily added: "But this is a matter we need to hard press our argument and you know we have a strong bargaining
and tell them (the US) what's necessary...we have to make a strong case which we have already made out. Here (Mumbai attacks) he (Headley) is involved, he is really involved".

Four days after US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake publicly stated in Delhi that Indian
investigators would have an access to Headley, US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer in a statement on Tuesday said "no decision on direct access for India to David Headley has been made."