India fears Headley is CIA agent gone rogue

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: After being denied access to interrogate American national David Coleman Headley with regards to the Mumbai attacks by US authorities, Indian intelligence sources now suspect that the alleged terrorist could be a CIA agent turned rogue.
Indian officials have been cross with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for not sharing information about Headley’s trip to India last March.
The FBI confirmed that Headley was already under surveillance when the Mumbai attacks took place.
The charges against him say he helped plot and execute the attacks.
In a debate in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) parliamentarian Brinda Karat raised the issue of why Indian officials had been denied access to Headley after his arrest.
A team of Indian officials who travelled to Chicago were not allowed to question Headley. The US has since said that it was "too premature" to discuss Headley's possible extradition to India.
Indian officials said that was an odd response, given that Headley stands charged of plotting India's worst terror attacks.
"Why have Indian investigators been denied access to Headley when the US was given access to Ajmal Kasab (the lone Pakistani gunman captured alive during the Nov 26-29, 2008, Mumbai attacks)," Brinda asked.
"Was this because this would expose the Frankenstein underbelly of the US intelligence agencies," she said.
Home Secretary GK Pillai said the National Investigating Agency (NIA), would continue its efforts to seek access to Hedley for interrogation and his extradition.

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