New Delhi: The government on Sunday said it is looking into the issue of whether necessary "requirements" were followed by the Chicago Consulate while using its discretionary powers to issue multi-entry visa to suspected terrorist Tahawwur Rana and his wife.
Noting that a "fairly thorough investigation" is being done into the matter, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said the probe is yet to be completed.
He was talking to media after addressing a conference at the Indian Council for World Affairs in New Delhi.
"I gather that there have been some fairly thorough investigation, which is not complete but which is making some headway into what exactly happened when the visa was issued," he said in reply to a question.
"There is a certain amount of discretionary authority that is given to each of our counsellors and there are certain requirements that they have to consult headquarters," he said.
"We have to make sure that the right things were done in this particular case as well. They are being looked into and we don't know yet what the final outcome is," Thaoor said adding, the ministry will share the findings with the public in "due course".
Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian, was arrested by the FBI along with US citizen David Coleman Headley for allegedly plotting terror attacks in India at the LeT's behest.
The visas to Rana and wife were issued "under the discretion of the Consul General" with the Home Ministry maintaining that it was in violation of rules under which its clearance is required for any person born in Pakistan. The consulate said the visas were issued with "due scrutiny of the available documents and following guidelines."
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