Indian authorities questioned Headly without any restraints

Indian investigators were given access to LeT operative David Headley aka Daood Gilani for seven days over the course of which they questioned him without any restrictions, the Obama administration disclosed on Thursday, pushing back at reports that Washington was being dodgy in cooperating with India on the Mumbai 26/11 terrorist attack.

However, "to protect the confidentiality of the investigations being conducted by both India and the United States, both countries have agreed not to disclose the contents of the interviews," the US Justice Department said in a statement. Various versions of what Headley told the investigators have appeared in the Indian media, none of which have been officially authenticated by authorities.


The Justice Department statement was backed by US ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer, who "proudly conveyed" his "strong support" for the Government of India/US Government collaboration on the interview process in Chicago, saying "The Headley interviews were historic in the nature of security cooperation. This strategic partnership is significant, substantive, and highly successful."

In a separate statement, Roemer confirmed that Indian investigators who arrived in the US on May 31 had been granted direct access to David Headley, and had conducted a series of interviews with him starting June 3.

Roemer praised the "superb cooperation" between the Indian team and their American counterparts throughout the process, noting the "depth and breadth of our partnership in this key area, including a Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative, joint US-India work on mega-city policing, forensic lab training, intelligence sharing, sharing best practices, and cooperation on launching a National Counter-Terrorism Center."

"As I have mentioned previously, the US Government worked continuously at the highest levels to ensure that this access occurred and was constructive in advancing our already unprecedented cooperation and information sharing on counter-terrorism issues," Roemer said.

However, the Indian reaction was decidedly restrained, although officials appreciated the US cooperation.

Confirming that Indian investigators had questioning Headley "over several days," Indian ambassador Meera Shankar said the team is now returning to India on the conclusion of a "useful visit." She provided no further details.

"The support and cooperation extended by the US authorities is appreciated and is in keeping with the commitment of the two countries to strengthen their cooperation in meeting the challenge of terrorism," Shankar said.