Seated in a plastic chair at his humble living space in suburban Mumbai, former crime branch officer Ramesh Mahale appears to be a complacent man. Way back in 2008, in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Mahale had spent ninety sleepless days to file a chargesheet in the case. Although the 11,000-page chargesheet carried thorough evidence from meticulous investigations, there was one missing link – role of the ISI in the four-day long siege in Mumbai that killed 166. And now, with Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley’s deposition before a Mumbai court, Mahale says that the gap has been bridged.
When asked if the revelation would prompt action against the ISI, Mahale shirks. “That is Pakistan’s call,” he says, “India does not have the authority to prosecute the ISI agents named by Headley. It’s extra-territorial jurisdiction. India and Pakistan, both countries have laws stating that only their own judiciary has the right to try a national of their country. They will obviously use this law and not hand over custody of the agents to us. That’s why they had conducted their own trial in the terror attacks and prosecuted seven of their men. But now, with these revelations in Headley’s deposition, international pressure is likely to build on Pakistan for bringing its men to justice. How they respond to the pressure is something we have to wait and see.”
David Headley, an LeT operative, deposed before the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) court in Mumbai for 27 hours in the past week via video link from an undisclosed location in the US. Accused of scouting and video-graphing locations in Mumbai and passing information on to LeT before the attacks, Headley could not be extradited to India for his trial. He was convicted during in North America on terrorism charges, and sentenced for 35 years. After India could not arrange his extradition, he was granted pardon by the TADA court on the condition that he would reveal “every fact” about the conspiracy behind the Mumbai terror attacks. It was imperative to have him as an approver, India had said, as his deposition would help in the conviction of Sayyed Zaibuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, the handler who was extradited to the country from Saudi Arabia in 2012. Jundal, however, never featured in any of Headley’s answers.
Recollecting the days of hard work that went into preparing the case against Jundal and other conspirators, Mahale says that it took a coordinated effort of 98 investigating officers to gather all the evidence. “I feel proud,” he says, “Pakistan has been involved in various attacks on our country – 1993 blasts, 7/11, so many others. All these attacks were Pakistan-sponsored, either the LeT, the ISI or any other organisation breeding in their country. But 26/11 was the first case where Pakistan accepted that the conspiracy was hatched on its soil, and prosecuted seven people. They had never done this before, nor did they do after.”
And now, with Headley’s deposition, Mahale feels even more positive. “The deposition is extremely important for two reasons – it has exposed the role of the ISI and it has corroborated Jundal’s confession. Making Headley an approver was a good idea, if you ask me. We could not have tried him. Plus, he’s already 56 years old and is serving a 35-year sentence. By the time his jail time is done, he’ll be long gone. But before that happens, he has at least raised a few questions for Pakistan and its ISI, questions that we never had enough evidence for,” Mahale smiles contentedly, and gets up to leave for the lecture on investigation tactics he has to deliver at a police camp.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)