New Delhi, Nov. 15: Delhi police are trying to retrace David Coleman Headley’s steps suspecting he could have conducted a recce for the September 13, 2008, serial blasts blamed on the Indian Mujahideen.

The aim of the investigation is to find out whether Headley had any local contacts who may have helped him get acquainted with the spots where the explosions, which had killed 26 persons and injured 135, were carried out.

Sleuths looking at his trip to Delhi in March this year are now scanning cyber cafes in Paharganj frequented by foreigners. Customer records, mandatory for the cafes to keep, from March 1 to 15 have been called for. Headley had stayed in two hotels in the central Delhi area from March 7 to 10.

The police suspect that Headley had used one of the cafes to mail his associate Tahawwur Hussain Rana, also in the FBI’s custody. They hope to create a Web footprint of the duo. Taxi stands, telephone booths and pubs in Paharganj have also come under the glare of the investigators.

Sources said officials of the special cell, the force’s anti-terror unit, and National Investigation Agency sleuths had taken copies of C forms (mandatory for visitors to fill up) of all foreigners who stayed in the area’s hotels during that period.

Police sources said Headley’s ability to move in and out of the country undetected was a wake-up call for all security agencies, which are now trying to identify all foreigners who have stayed on in Delhi after their visas expired.

The sources said there were at least 16 such Americans in the past two years. All of them were arrested and deported, but the sources said the documents of these US citizens could be scrutinised again.

The sleuths are also trying to determine exactly how many US citizens were there in Delhi with expired visas during the period of Headley’s stay.

Union home secretary G.K. Pillai recently issued instructions under which all applications for visa from Pakistani-born US nationals — like Headley — would now be processed and cleared in New Delhi instead of Indian missions in the US.

Pakistani and Bangladeshi residents are usually tracked more closely than Americans and Europeans. The sources said Headley didn’t come under the scanner as he had an American name and a US passport.

Many of the foreigners, especially those from Bangladesh, deported in the past after being found living in India illegally had managed to procure Indian ration cards, voter cards and driving licences.

Intelligence sources say agencies are scanning the records of all foreigners who have been staying in the country illegally over the past five years.

According to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office records, over 1.39 lakh people had stayed from 2005 to 2007 after their visas expired. This includes 89 Chinese, 289 Afghans, 288 Pakistanis and about 40,000 Bangladeshis.