BJP demands death sentence for Headley

NEW DELHI: Demanding death penalty for LeT terrorist David Headley, BJP today said he should be extradited to face trial in Indian courts for the killing of 166 people in the 2008 Mumbai terror strike.

"The sentence (of 35 years awarded to Headley) handed down to Headley is perhaps for the death of six Americans killed on Indian soil. What about the other people killed across Mumbai in the ghastly act.

"BJP demands justice for them which is only possible when Headley is brought to India to be tried by our courts," party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said here.

He said the sentence was only "partial" as it was awarded by a US court under US laws for the killing of American citizens.

"We want him to be tried like Ajmal Kasab. No Indian can settle for less than death sentence for Headley...We demand from the Government of India to bring Headley to India without delay as the crime was committed on Indian soil," he said.

The 52-year-old Pakistani-American was sentenced by a Chicago court to 35 years in jail for the Mumbai terror attack with the judge expressing his unhappiness over the prosecution seeking a lighter term.

Headley had entered into a plea bargain with the US investigators under which he escaped death sentence.