NIA grills Tahawwur Rana over key evidence, including calls with 26/11 co-conspirator David Headley | 10 updates

 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) questioned Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key conspirator in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, for the second day in a row, sources told PTI on Saturday.

Also Read: Indians ‘deserved it’: Tahawwur Rana told David Headley after 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks; focus shifts to ISI role

According to officials, a team of NIA investigators is examining Rana to determine his precise involvement in the larger conspiracy behind the horrific attacks that rocked the country more than 16 years ago. 

Here are the top ten updates:

1. Rana is said to be grilled on the basis of various leads gathered by the probe agency during the course of its investigation including a large number of phone calls between him and his co-conspirator David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen currently in prisons in that country.

2. He would also be quizzed about individuals he met, especially an alleged key contact in Dubai who is said to be aware about the plans to carry out Mumbai terror strikes, the sources told PTI.

3. Rana was brought to the NIA headquarters early Friday morning after a Delhi court granted 18-day custody to the probe agency, following his extradition from the US.

Also Read: Tahawwur Rana, 26/11 accused, remanded to NIA custody for 18 days

4. He is 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 PTI.

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

5. The 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman would also be questioned on his suspected links with the officials of Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and his association with terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which had orchestrated the attacks.

6. The investigators also hope to find some important leads on his travels in parts of northern and southern India, days before the carnage in the country's financial capital on November 26, 2008, they said.

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

7. “Rana will remain in NIA custody for 18 days, during which time the agency will question him in detail in order to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the deadly 2008 attacks, in which a total of 166 persons were killed and over 238 injured,” said a statement issued by the probe agency soon after the court's verdict on Friday early morning.

8. The anti-terror agency had produced Rana before the NIA Special Court at Patiala House after formally placing him under arrest following his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here on Thursday evening upon his extradition from the US.

Also Read: Special flight carrying 26/11 Mumbai attacks plotter Tahawwur Rana lands in Delhi; NIA issues statement

9. The NIA informed the court that it suspects Tahawwur Hussain Rana was involved in planning terror attacks similar to the 26/11 Mumbai strikes, with intentions to target multiple Indian cities. In its directive, the court ordered the NIA to ensure Rana undergoes a medical check-up every 24 hours and is allowed to meet his lawyer every alternate day during the course of the investigation.

10. Tahawwur Hussain Rana has been charged with several serious offenses, including criminal conspiracy, murder, execution of a terrorist act, and forgery. The case, registered by the NIA in 2009, revealed that senior operatives of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HuJI) played a significant role in orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

(With inputs from PTI)