India to seek Headley's extradition: Govt

New Delhi: India will continue to seek David Coleman Headley's extradition, said Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi after Headley pleaded guilty to all 12 terror-related charges against him before the US District Court in Chicago on Thursday, Chidambaram said that India needs more access to Headley for interrogation and to record his testimony in the Mumbai terror attack case.

"I have seen a copy of the plea agreement. In return the prosecutors have agreed that they will not seek the death penalty and he will not be extradited to India or Denmark or Pakistan," said Chidambaram.

The Union Home Minister pointed that Headley has been charged with crimes that spanned across different countries.

"If Headley had committed the crime only in India, extradition was easy. He has committed the crime in both the countries. We must remember there were six Americans who died in Mumbai attacks. The American authorities have the jurisdiction to prosecute him. Since he was apprehended in the US, I always knew there would be a problem in our extradition. We will continue to maintain our plea for the extradition," he said.

"US sentence is on certain guidelines. It appears to me that the prosecutor will seek for life imprisonment. The life imprisonment means the natural life of the accused. The court is not bound by the plea agreement but by and large they are bound by plea agreement. We should wait and watch," he said.

He also said that India had already got enough information from the US regarding Headley's involvement in terror related activities.

"Access is one thing, information is another. We have been given a significant amount of information about their investigation. We want access to get more information. In any judicial proceedings in the US the Indian authorities have the right to question either through a video conferencing or through the letters," he said.

"A significant amount of information has already been shared with India. Many of the questions that the Indian authorities wanted have been answered. I will continue to press for access to India," he said.

"Sending a team from here to the US will depend on the access. Interrogation and testimony are two different things. We are pushing for both the access to interrogate him and access to testify him. The plea agreement does not rule out either information or testimony," he said

"If he agrees to testify through a judicial proceeding then we will have the right to question him. Headley has agreed that he will fully testify to any foreign judicial proceedings held in the US," he added.

"I don't know how long the process of testimony will take in the US. I am a very patient man."

The Home Minister also ruled out any disruption in the Mumbai terror attack case involving Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab following Headley's guilty plea.

"The 26/11 case regarding Kasab is in its stage of final argument. There will be a judgement. Nothing that has happened in the US will affect the 26/11 trial in Mumbai. We shouldn't mix Kasab with Headley. In case of Kasab we got assistance from the US in case of GPS, Deciphering of damaged mobile etc. We gave very limited access to Kasab," said Chidambaram.

Chidambaram also claimed that the US had already told India that Headley would enter into a plea agreement.

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