NIA begins process for recoding statement of Headley wife

New Delhi, Feb 19: With the special court granting permission for a Letters Rogatory to be sent to Morocco, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun the process for sending request to that country for recording the statement of Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley's estranged Moroccan wife for evidence against him.

Sources said Faiza Outalha, the estranged wife of Headley, will also be a crucial evidence in nailing the lies of LeT founder Hafeez Saeed, who has been attempting to throw a veil to his terror activities under the garb of being associated with humanitarian activities of Jamaat-ul-Dawa (JuD).

The order of the special court of HS Sharma was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which will be forwarded to Legal and Treaties department of Ministry of External Affairs, the sources said.

Outalha, during her stay in Pakistan, had met Saeed and complained about Headley to him and besides that she had also gone to the US Embassy in Islamabad to complain against the American-born terrorist and his role with terror groups like LeT and Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami, the sources said, adding her statement would be recorded as a witness.

Outalha, who married 50-year-old Headley in February 2007 and divorced a year later, had been able to give security agencies an insight into the personal life of Headley which included connections he had in Mumbai, including with some socialites.

She had flown to Mumbai from Karachi and crossed over through Wagah border into India the second time. She had come for the first time in 2007 and stayed with the terror suspect in Taj Mahal Hotel and later in Oberoi-Trident.

Both the luxury hotels were targeted by the terrorists during the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008. She had again come in May 2008 via Wagah and went straight to Manali where she was on a holiday near a Jewish house and later toured some areas of Shimla including nearby Kufri, a popular tourist destination.

While she claimed that she had since been divorced as Headley was allegedly having relations with several women, the investigators also got information from her about his alleged links with some upcoming Bollywood actors, prominent party-hoppers of Mumbai and socialites.

PTI