MUMBAI: The family of Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in an alleged encounter in Gujarat, has raised questions over David Coleman Headley's testimony that she was an operative of Lashkae-e-Tayyaba (LeT), saying this was for the "political benefit of some big people" whose names have been "besmirched."

Musarrat, the sister of the 19-year-old college girl, claimed that she had no terror links, hours after the terrorist's deposition in a special court over a videom link from the United States in the 26/11 case, Times of India reported on Friday.

"It has been proved in investigations that it was an encounter. We are not saying this, it has been proved by the Indian investigators that my sister, Ishrat, was innocent. She was killed...it was an encounter and a political conspiracy," she said in Mumbai.

"Many big people are involved in it. Headley is saying all this because they will benefit politically out of it. I don't understand that despite investigations, which have proved she was innocent, why judgement in the case is taking so long. He himself (Headley) is a terrorist and is in jail in the US, how does his statement counts?" she asked.

Ishrat's mother Shamima Kausar said, "This is just a ploy by those guilty who are powerful to try and salvage their names that have been besmirched."