Delhi court extends accused Tahawwur Rana’s judicial custody till 13 August

A Delhi court on Wednesday, 9 July, extended till 13 August the judicial custody of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana.

Rana was produced before the Patiala House Court through a video conferencing facility upon the expiry of the previously granted judicial custody.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a supplementary charge sheet against Rana, a former officer of the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps, following an initial charge sheet filed against him in 2012. The latest charge sheet also included Rana’s arrest memo, seizure memos, and several other related documents.

Earlier on 6 June, a Special NIA Court had sent Rana to judicial custody till 9 July, and had called for a status report from Tihar jail authorities after Rana’s counsel flagged his deteriorating health condition.

The NIA had collected voice and handwriting samples of Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian national, as a precursor to match them with recordings of his telephonic discussions with 26/11 co-accused David Coleman Headley.

Rana, who was extradited from the US, is suspected to have passed on to Headley handwritten notes sharing instructions, coordinates, and maps which were used to scout 26/11 targets.

As per an NIA official, the anti-terror agency also had plans to take Rana to Mumbai and other cities to reconstruct the chain of events preceding the terror attack that left 166 people dead.

In April, the Special NIA court extended Rana’s NIA custody after senior advocate Dayan Krishnan pleaded that the investigating agency needed more time to uncover Rana’s role in the Mumbai attack of 2008.

The Special Judge was informed by the NIA about the alleged evasive technique adopted by Rana during questioning. During his NIA remand, Rana was also questioned by Mumbai Police officers.

In the course of interrogation, Rana claimed that he had "no connection whatsoever" with the planning or execution of the attack.

He also claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused Headley was solely responsible for the reconnaissance and planning aspects of 26/11. Headley is currently in a US jail. Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to conducting recce missions across India, including in Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

During questioning, Rana said that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he had also travelled to Kerala.

When asked about the purpose of his visit to Kerala, he claimed he had gone there to meet a known acquaintance and had provided the individual's name and address to the agency.

Rana was extradited to India from the US to stand trial in the Mumbai attack case.