NEW DELHI: After getting custody of Tahawwur Rana, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind, a high-level team of 12 NIA personnel, including two Inspector Generals (IGs), one Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and one Superintendent of Police (SP) besides the NIA chief himself, will grill the extradited accused.
A source said, “Only 12 members related to the investigation will have access to the cell in which Rana will be lodged and they include NIA Director General (DG) Sadanand Date, IG Ashish Batra, DIG Jaya Roy among others.” If anyone else seeks to visit Rana, they would require prior permission to do so, he said.
Sources said that during the course of questioning, Rana will be shown crucial evidence linked to the terror attacks, including recorded voice samples, photos, videos, and emails, which were gathered during the investigation. These pieces of evidence are expected to play a critical role in uncovering further details in the case including Rana’s involvement with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, and his connections to the Pakistani Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), they added.
Rana will also be pressed for details about his relations and interactions with the ‘project manager’ of the attack Sajid Mir, the Pakistan-based terrorist, who was reportedly in India at the time of the terror attacks.
The NIA in its charge sheet has accused Rana of facilitating reconnaissance for the attacks via his immigration consultancy business. This was carried out by Pakistani American David Coleman Headley, who is presently lodged in a US jail.
The NIA sleuths investigating the case are going to mostly focus on Rana’s extensive communication with Headley, who visited India several times between 2006 and 2008, further solidifying the links between the terror network and Pakistan.
According to a source in the NIA, on September 14, 2006, when Headley first visited Mumbai to conduct the recces, he called Rana more than 32 times. Headley continued to be in touch with Rana and called him 231 times during his eight visits to India ahead of the terror attacks, he added.
On November 26, 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists launched coordinated terror attacks at 12 locations in Mumbai, killing 166 people. One of the terrorists, Ajmal Kasab, was caught and later hanged at a Pune prison in 2012.
