American terror suspect David Headley stayed at the Osho Ashram in Pune twice during his visits to the city in 2008-09 but did not register himself as a foreign national with the police, a top official said on Tuesday.
Specifying the dates of Headley's visit--June 24, 2008 and March 16, 2009--Joint Commissioner Rajendra Sonavane said the police got information about his stay at the ashram from commune officials on Monday night while scrutinising a report submitted by them on visitors, who were foreign nationals.
Sonavane said police would be inquiring as to why Headley failed to register himself with the authorities as a foreign national as per the requirement under the law. The Osho commune submits monthly report to police on the foreign nationals visiting the ashram, located in Pune's posh Koregaon Park.
Headley, accused of masterminding terror attacks in India at the behest of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, is believed to have visited Pune on a business visa and left for Mumbai later, police said. A team of National Investigation Agency sleuths which recently visited the city in connection with the probe has provided details of Headley's visit to Pune, they said.
A spokesperson of Osho Ashram, Amirti Sadhna said the Ashram was open to all and visited by thousands of people for meditation. "It is possible that Headley may have come here. We are fully cooperating with police in the investigations," she said.
