NIA interrogates Tahawwur Rana: 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind had plans for similar attacks on…

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday launched an in-depth interrogation of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the alleged mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, aiming to uncover the “deeper layers of the conspiracy.” The agency informed a Delhi court that it suspects Rana may have been planning similar large-scale attacks in other Indian cities as well.

Also Read: Tahawwur Rana extradited to India: Who is he, what’s his role in 26/11, and what will happen next?

Rana, a 64-year-old Canadian businessman of Pakistani origin, was brought to the NIA headquarters early Friday morning, just after a Delhi court granted the agency 18 days of custody.

He arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening via a chartered flight following his extradition from the United States, marking the end of a 16-year wait to bring one of the key accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks — which claimed 166 lives and left over 238 injured — to justice.

Also Read: PM Modi’s 2011 tweet slamming UPA on Tahawwur Rana resurfaces after 26/11 mastermind’s extradition to India

"His (Rana) prolonged custody has been deemed necessary to facilitate an extensive interrogation aimed at uncovering deeper layers of the conspiracy. We suspect that the tactics used in the Mumbai attacks were intended for execution in other cities as well, prompting investigators to examine whether similar plots were developed elsewhere," the NIA is believed to have informed special NIA judge Chander Jit Singh late Thursday while presenting its arguments, sources told ANI.

Also Read: ‘Indeed a big step in ensuring justice’: S Jaishankar reacts to Marco Rubio’s post on Tahawwur Rana’s extradition

Rana has to be confronted with a lot of evidence and his statements would lead to "additional discoveries", the NIA submitted. The agency further told the court it needed to investigate his links with other terrorists and those accused in the Mumbai attack case.

Rana, a close associate of 26/11 mastermind David Coleman Headley (a.k.a. Daood Gilani), a U.S. citizen, is accused of conspiring with him, as well as members of designated terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI), along with other co-conspirators based in Pakistan, to execute the three-day terror assault on Mumbai — India’s financial hub — in November 2008.

As the NIA begins to “unravel the complete conspiracy behind the deadly 2008 attacks,” the agency’s interrogation is reportedly centered on uncovering more details about Rana’s alleged ties to LeT, the Pakistan-based terrorist organization that orchestrated the siege, ANI reported.

Sources also revealed that Rana is being questioned about his suspected connections with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and his precise role in planning and facilitating the attacks.

Here's what Rana will be questioned

ANI reported citing sources said that Rana would also be questioned on his suspected links with the officials of Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and his exact role behind the attack. 

They further said that as part of the probe to piece together crucial evidence and retrace events from 17 years ago Rana may be taken to key locations, allowing them to reconstruct the crime scene and gain deeper insight into the larger terror network at play.

“The investigators also hope to find some important leads on his travels in parts of northern and southern India, days before the carnage that began on November 26, 2008,” they said.

Rana visited Hapur and Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kochi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai with his wife Samraz Rana Akhtar between November 13 and November 21, 2008," the sources said.

They said there could have been a larger conspiracy aimed at targeting other places across the country behind his visits to these places, and the exact details would be ascertained only after his interrogation.

Rana is being kept in a highly-secured cell, inside the anti-terror agency's head office at CGO complex here, being guarded by security personnel round the clock, the sources told ANI.

Security beefed up

The investigation is being led by NIA Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Jaya Roy, who is also serving as the Chief Investigating Officer, according to sources.

“Rana will remain in NIA custody for 18 days, during which the agency will conduct a detailed interrogation to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks,” the NIA said in a statement released shortly after the court granted custody.

The agency stated that as part of the criminal plot, Headley—listed as Accused No. 1—had shared the details of the entire operation with Rana prior to his visit to India.

To prepare for potential complications, Headley reportedly sent an email to Rana outlining his belongings and assets, the NIA informed the court. He also disclosed to Rana the involvement of Pakistani nationals Ilyas Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, both of whom are co-accused in the case.

(With inputs from ANI)