A Delhi court on Monday extended by 12 days the National Investigation Agency custody of Tahawwur Rana, a key conspirator of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, allowing the agency’s request.
On April 11, the court of Additional Sessions Judge (NIA) Chander Jit Singh sent Rana to the NIA’s custody for 18 days. After this period expired, he was again produced before the Patiala House court.
As per sources, the NIA stated that it was dealing with a voluminous record and needed more time to confront Rana with the evidence. It was also the agency’s submission that Rana was not cooperating as it would like him to.
Rana was arrested in Chicago in 2009, the year after the terrorist attacks in which 166 people were killed. He arrived in Delhi on April 10, 2025, following his extradition from the United States.
According to the sources, the NIA suspects that Rana was behind similar terrorist plots across India. The agency had earlier sought his custody for 20 days for a detailed investigation to unearth the full conspiracy and to confront Rana with evidence.
Last Thursday, the court dismissed an application moved by Rana seeking permission to speak to his family members. The NIA opposed his application stating that the investigation was at a crucial stage and that the agency didn’t want any interference in it. There was also an apprehension, said sources, that Rana might leak sensitive information related to the case.
For now, Rana is allowed a meeting with his lawyers every alternate day in the presence of NIA officials (who will be at a hearing distance) and he will be provided with a pen and paper during the meeting.
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According to the NIA, Rana was also involved in planning future attacks in India and had met Lashkar-e-Toiba operative Abdur Rehman in Dubai ahead of the Mumbai attacks.
Rana is accused of aiding and abetting the reconnaissance carried out by David Coleman Headley, with whom he went to school in Pakistan, for the 26/11 attacks and of participating in the conspiracy.
Rana, who is of Pakistani origin, had been fighting a legal battle in the US since his arrest in 2009, going from court to court seeking to stay on in the country. In March 2025, the US Supreme Court finally rejected his plea against extradition, paving way for his arrival in India.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd