The United States may consider giving India access to Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist David Coleman Headley’s wife Shazia Gilani, his former wife Portia Gilani and accomplice in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack Tahawwur Hussain Rana.
A Home Ministry official said there is a positive development after India made a request in June during Home Secretary R K Singh’s visit to the US.
“Hopefully, we will get access soon,” the Home Ministry official said.
Singh had requested the US authorities to allow Indian investigators to interrogate Shazia Gilani, who lives in Chicago. Shazia, an MBA, was also a crucial witness in Rana Vs State trial in the northern district court, Illinois, in 2011. Shazia married Headley in 1999 and moved to the US in 2008.
During the NIA interrogation in June 2010, Headley refused to discuss his family and Shazia with the sleuths. During Singh’s visit, India had asked the US to provide the statement of 13 witnesses, including Shazia Gilani.
All these 13 witnesses are either based in the US or Canada and have links with Headley and his friend Rana, who actively helped him to carry out the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
Though the FBI gave a clean chit to Rana stating he had no role in the Mumbai attack, Headley told the NIA interrogators that Rana facilitated his trips to Mumbai for the recce of the locations and financed his business venture. He also said Rana played an active role throughout his planning with LeT handlers in Pakistan and was also in touch with ISI officials.
The interrogation of Headley’s former wife Portia may give more clues to the investigators as she had raised the suspicious activities of her husband with the US authorities when he was working as double agent for the DEA.
In 2005, she called the FBI and told the sleuths about her husband’s frequent visits to Pakistan and his association with the Lashkar-e-Toiba, but the agency did not question Headley. After a few months of giving her statement, Portia, a make-up artist by profession, divorced Headley.