26/11 terror attack: Tahawwur Rana’s judicial custody extended until July 9
text_fields
New Delhi: A court in Delhi on Friday extended the judicial custody of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana until July 9.
Rana was presented before Special Judge Chander Jit Singh via video conference as his previously granted custody expired.
The Patiala House Court directed Tihar authorities to submit a status report by June 9 following concerns raised by Rana’s counsel regarding his deteriorating health. According to the latest order, Rana, a former officer of Pakistan’s Army Medical Corps, will remain in judicial custody until July 9.
On May 9, a special NIA court had remanded Rana to judicial custody until June 6, pausing questioning by the federal anti-terror agency.
The NIA has obtained Rana’s voice and handwriting samples in court as part of efforts to match them with recordings of his telephonic conversations with 26/11 co-accused David Coleman Headley, an official confirmed.
Recently extradited from the US, Tahawwur Rana is suspected of having provided handwritten notes to David Coleman Headley, containing instructions, coordinates, and maps used to scout targets for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
The NIA has planned to take Rana to Mumbai and other cities to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the attack, which claimed 166 lives.
In April, the special NIA court extended Rana’s custody by 12 days to allow further questioning. Special Judge Charan Jit Singh granted the extension after senior advocate Dayan Krishnan argued that investigators needed more time to determine Rana’s role in the 2008 attack.
Following the end of his 18-day remand on April 28, Rana was presented in court for the extension. During the proceedings, the NIA informed the court of Rana’s alleged evasive approach during questioning.
During his NIA remand, Rana was also questioned by Mumbai Police officers. In the 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 recently to stand trial in the Mumbai attack case.
(inputs from IANS)
