Tahawwur Rana's Interrogated Today: Key Questions He May Be Asked

When a special plane touched down in Delhi Thursday evening, a team from the anti-terror body National Investigation Agency (NIA), flanked by elite National Security Guard (NSG) commandos, escorted Tahawwur Hussain Rana - the Pakistani-origin Canadian national accused of playing a role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks - to a court where he was formally remanded to 18-day NIA custody. 

Within hours, he was moved under high security to the anti-terror agency's heavily guarded headquarters at the CGO complex. Rana, who was arrested under a US extradition warrant and had exhausted every available legal avenue to avoid facing Indian justice, will now be probed over the next few days. 

Inside Rana's Interrogation

According to sources, Rana has been kept in a 14x14 cell on the ground floor of the NIA headquarters. This cell is equipped with CCTV cameras, a bed and a toilet. Multiple layers of digital security has been placed, as well as a retinue of 24-hour guards. Only 12 NIA officials are allowed to enter this cell. 

At 10 am today, the first round of interrogation begins. Inside a sealed, CCTV-monitored interrogation room, equipped with video-recording equipment, a team led by NIA officers of Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent rank will begin the probe. A daily interrogation diary will be maintained, detailing every exchange and answer. At the end of the 18-day custody period, a comprehensive disclosure statement - legally admissible - will be prepared as part of the case diary.

Rana's legal team in the US had cited multiple life-threatening medical conditions - including chronic asthma, Parkinson's disease, heart ailments, suspected bladder cancer, and cognitive decline - in a last-ditch attempt to block his extradition. They warned that Indian custody would effectively amount to a death sentence. But both the US federal courts and ultimately the US Supreme Court rejected the argument, clearing the path for his return to India.

A medical check-up will be administered every 48 hours to monitor his health and ensure compliance with human rights standards. Special precautions are being taken to prevent any possibility of self-harm in case Rana attempts to escape accountability by compromising his safety.

Establishing Identity and Intent

According to NIA sources, the first leg of Rana's interrogation will focus on his personal and familial background. Investigators will probe details about his upbringing, education, family, and career, including his transition from a trained medical doctor to an alleged conspirator in international terrorism.

In particular, they will ask why he brought his wife with him during his 2008 visit to India. Did his family know about his alleged links to David Coleman Headley - another accused in the Mumbai attacks case, who is currently in jail in the US - or his role in planning the 26/11 attacks?

26/11 Mumbai Attacks

The next and most critical rounds of interrogation will focus squarely on the Mumbai attacks - a series of coordinated shootings and bombings carried out by ten terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group that left 166 people dead and more than 238 injured over four harrowing days. Rana is accused of facilitating reconnaissance missions, aiding Headley's fake visa applications, and liaising with LeT terrorists.

According to NIA sources, among the key questions that will be put to him are:

1. Where was he physically located on November 26, 2008, when the attacks began?
2. Why did he travel to India between November 8 and November 21 of that year? Where did he go, and whom did he meet during this window?
3. When did he first learn about the impending Mumbai attacks?
4. What was the extent of his relationship with David Headley, and why did he help procure a fake visa for him?
5. What kind of information did Headley relay to Rana during his visits to India?
6. What was the nature of Rana's conversations with Headley? Did they involve detailed planning of the attacks?
7. What direct or indirect role did Rana play in selecting and surveilling potential targets?
8. How did he assist Headley in gathering actionable intelligence for Lashkar-e-Taiba?
9. Was he involved in any logistical planning or funding of the operation?
10. Did he liaise with operatives beyond Headley - including individuals embedded in the LeT and Pakistan's ISI network?

Lashkar-e-Taiba Connection

From the Mumbai attacks, the interrogation will pivot to Rana's alleged links with Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to sources, officials want to determine:

1. How and when did he meet LeT chief Hafiz Saeed?
2. What was the nature of their relationship?
3. Did he provide logistical or financial support to Lashkar? If so, what did the group provide in return?
4. Can Rana identify other members of the LeT by name, face, or role?
5. What is his understanding of the LeT's hierarchy, recruitment methods, and funding sources?
6. Who supplies the group's weaponry, and which countries are allegedly involved?
7. What role do the Pakistani Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) play in training, funding, and selecting targets?
8. Does Rana have knowledge of training camps run by LeT and HuJI (Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami)?
9. How many ISI officers are involved in this process, and what exactly is taught during these training modules?
10. Who makes the final decisions about executing attacks? Are instructions relayed directly by ISI officers or routed through LeT intermediaries?
11. What psychological conditioning is employed to ready young men for suicide missions?
12. How many individuals are involved in the operational planning of a typical attack, and what specific roles do they play?

The Pakistan ISI Nexus

Investigators are also expected to probe Rana about his alleged links to the Pakistani intelligence agency. According to NIA sources, some of the questions that may be asked are:

1. Did Headley introduce Rana to the ISI, or was it the other way around?
2. What was the ISI's objective? Were the Mumbai sites the only intended targets, or did plans exist to strike other Indian cities?
3. Were senior ISI officials - besides Major Iqbal and Sameer Ali, both of whom are on NIA's most wanted list - also involved in coordinating with Headley and Rana?
4. Who was responsible for financing the logistics of the attack?
5. Was the ISI operating with knowledge or tacit approval from the Pakistani government?
6. Who issued instructions during the attack - a real-time communications link was discovered during the siege. Does Rana know who was on the other end?