In a significant development in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, a Delhi court on Friday remanded Tahawwur Hussain Rana to judicial custody till June 6 and sent him to Tihar Jail. The order came a day before the conclusion of his National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody.
Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman and close associate of 26/11 key conspirator David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, was produced before Special NIA Judge Chander Jit Singh. The court passed the remand order on a plea moved by the NIA, which is probing his alleged role in the deadly terror attacks.
Rana was extradited to India after the US Supreme Court dismissed his review plea against extradition on April 4. Following his arrival, he was placed under NIA custody for 18 days starting April 11. On April 28, the court extended his custody by another 12 days, after the agency claimed that Rana held crucial information about Lashkar-e-Taiba’s ongoing and future terror plots targeting India, and its chief Hafiz Saeed.
The NIA told the court it was interrogating Rana in a “measured” manner, addressing his health concerns, contrary to his claims of being subjected to 20-hour daily questioning. The agency had also complained about Rana’s non-cooperation during the custodial interrogation.
Subsequently, on April 30, the court permitted the agency to collect Rana’s voice and handwriting samples to aid the ongoing investigation.
Rana is accused of playing a key logistical role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, where ten heavily armed Pakistani terrorists infiltrated Mumbai via the sea route. The coordinated strike across major city landmarks, including the CST railway station, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, and Nariman House (a Jewish centre), lasted nearly 60 hours and left 166 people dead.
