What David Headley should be telling India?

We all know what David Headley will tell the Mumbai court. However, is that enough because a lot of it is already on the public domain. However, with Headley now turning approver, India would expect him to tell us a little more that what he has already told us.

For starters one must say that the Mumbai police carried out a very hurried investigation and never went into intricate details. The local links were ignored for reasons best known to the cops. Moreover they never knew about the existence of Headley until the Americans told us about it.

For over an year, the Mumbai police relied on those neat and crease less maps that they claimed were found on the bodies of the terrorists which were allegedly prepared by Sabahuddin Ahmed and Fahim Ansari- both have been acquitted by the Supreme Court of India.

What Headley should tell us

India never bothered to probe into the local links that Headley had when he had come to Mumbai to carry out a survey of the targets.

Confidential files clearly reveal that he had three local contacts in Mumbai who helped him around the city. He was told to get in touch with Basheer a friend of Tawwahur Rana, the man who arranged his travel documents.

Headley was received by Basheer when he landed in India. It was Basheer who helped Headley around the city and even sent two other men to carry out the job.

The Indian investigators never bothered probing this angle. Headley during his confession before both the FBI and the NIA did not mention this angle even once.

Sajid Mir the mystery

Headley does speak about Sajid Mir, the man who was his handler during the 26/11 attack. He was in regular touch with this person who is a big player in the attack.

There is really no proper information on Mir and the most the Intelligence Bureau could get on him was that he was an officer in the ISI. Sajid Mir was branded an international terrorist.

US, France and India have files on him, but none have any concrete information on what he exactly does or who he is. While speaking to sources in Pakistan they are hell bent on terming him as a fictitious character and the only Sajid Mir they know is an old cleric.

Headley clearly knows more about Mir. He has not uttered anything about the antecedents of Mir in his confessions and as expected his memoir too is silent on this aspect.

Oh those Americans

Headley also could have blurted more on the Americans: When Headley was first arrested the FBI did its bit to cover up that he was a double agent. His travel details to India were very much in the know of the Americans. His stint in Pakistan when he turned rogue was also a well known fact.

He is clearly not someone that the FBI or the CIA did not have details about. In the year 1989 he was sent to Afghanistan by the CIA to gather information about drug smuggling. The other mystery is surrounding the lack of action by the FBI despite being told clearly about his activities. His girlfriend had told the FBI that he had turned rogue.

Even after the 26/11 attack, the US was informed about him. However, the US took one long year to tell India about him. Headley makes no mention about his direct contacts with the CIA and how the lid was always placed on his activities. India has enough material to prove that the US knew not just about him but his activities as well.

However, Headley does not say much in his confession to the NIA or even in his latest memoir.

Headley can never say it all: Headley has a practical problem on hand. An officer of the NIA, who questioned him, says that he was well rehearsed and decided this is all he was going to say. Moreover, when he questioned him, a team of the FBI was present at all times to monitor the questioning.

Headley after his arrest entered into a plea bargain with the US. As per the deal, he would not be sentenced to death and also not extradited to India. In exchange Headley had promised to reveal only as much the FBI wanted to hear.