With no fresh leads for investigation, the government is likely to put on hold the NIA case against US national and LeT operative David Coleman Headley and his accomplice, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, accused of plotting terror attacks in India. This would essentially mean that the officers involved in the investigation would be taken off the case and allowed to devote time to other cases, senior government sources said.
In November 2009, the NIA had registered a case against Headley and Rana to probe their role in various terror strikes in India. Government sources said the NIA probe has not achieved any breakthrough so far and, more importantly, the case does not elicit any hope of reaching its logical conclusion.
While the prospects of Headley and Rana standing trial in India are very bleak, the other seven accused are all believed to be in Pakistan. “In such a scenario, where the accused cannot be arrested and there is little hope of catching them, the investigation can be kept pending; this is termed an interim closure of investigation of the case. It can be re-opened if new information is available or any other case-related developments occur,” a top government official said. The MHA is expected to discuss the ramifications of the move with the top brass of the NIA.