Headley case: Government seeks report on missing visa papers

New Delhi, Dec 17 - External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna Thursday said the government has sought a preliminary report from the Indian consulate in Chicago on the alleged disappearance of visa papers given to Mumbai terror conspirators David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana.

"We have asked for a preliminary report from the consulate general in Chicago and after I get the report we will see how we can proceed with it," Krishna told reporters here.

"I would not prejudge anything that has appeared in the media but certainly the government is aware of its responsibilities and we will discharge them," he said.

When asked about India seeking extradition of Headley, Krishna said: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been cooperating with the Indian intelligence agencies and as and when the FBI completes its inquiry and investigation we certainly will be able to get the outcome of that. Later on we will decided how to proceed."

On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had said that India has sought a factual report on the issue.

The Indian consulate in Chicago had issued visas to Rana and Headley to travel to India. Both made several trips between 2006 to 2008 to various cities in India and allegedly helped the Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives in Pakistan in planning the 26/11 terror attacks.

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the visa application process as part of its investigation into the role of Headley, an American of Pakistani origin, and Rana, a Canadian of Pakistani origin, in the Mumbai attacks.  (IANS)