'Tahawwur Rana May Reveal More Names': Ex Anti-Terror Agency Official

A former top official of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) termed the successful extradition of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India "extremely important" as his interrogation could help in filling the blanks left behind from earlier investigations.

NIA's former inspector general Loknath Behera told NDTV the case against Rana which is being handled by the anti-terror agency is related to a larger conspiracy and is pending before a special NIA court in Delhi. The NIA filed a chargesheet against Rana in 2011.

In a second case, the Mumbai Police filed a chargesheet against Rana in 2023 for plotting the 26/11 terror attacks, he said.

"There are differences [between the two cases]. The NIA case is related to a conspiracy much larger and beyond the Mumbai attack cases because these people were also wrecking other places, including National Defence College, etc. And there were probably bigger game plans. Some of them are yet to be revealed. Therefore, this extradition assumes more importance because we never got access to Rana to be interrogated just like we did in respect of Headley," Mr Behera said, referring to David Headman Coley, a Pakistan-born US citizen who ran reconnaissance of civilian targets.

Mr Behera said unless the Supreme Court merges these two cases and transfers to a special court, there will be two trials - one in Delhi, the other in Mumbai.

"... I'm sure he [Rana] knows certain things which we do not know. And probably that will be actually more revealing. And I will not be surprised to see that more names come out. For example, we know the handlers of David Coleman Headley, but who are the handlers of Rana? Maybe they are the same or they are different. So all these questions were there during our investigation, but we could not answer them because of lack of access to this person [Rana]," the former NIA officer said. "Today, we are in a better position and it is actually a victory of diplomacy, the concerted effort of all the agencies, the government and various departments."

To a question about whether David Coleman Headley got away, Mr Behera said Indian investigators could question Headley owing to effective diplomacy and good ties with the US, and he did not go scot-free.

"These two were arrested by the FBI in 2009... Thanks to the good work, we actually could examine David Coleman Headley and get some information. But that did not happen in respect of Rana. So that is the one part of this. But in the process, what happened is that Headley invoked plea bargaining with the court concerned in America.

"And on the basis of that plea bargaining, he will not be extradited to any country, including India, or in Denmark, or some other places, wherever there is a case. So anything you want to do, it has to be done on American soil. He cannot be extradited as on date, as per the law now. If something changes subsequently, I do not know.

"Whereas Rana was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in the Denmark case, and acquitted in the Mumbai case... I believe, I personally am very convinced that Rana will tell something which will be very relevant, and maybe more information than we know. So it is important," Mr Behera told NDTV.

After arriving in Delhi, Rana was taken for a medical test and produced before the court of special NIA judge Chander Jit Singh, who heard his custody proceedings.

Senior lawyer Dayan Krishnan and special public prosecutor Narender Mann represented the NIA. Lawyer Piyush Sachdeva from Delhi Legal Services Authority represented Rana.