A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court stated that the probe agency has sufficient material to reflect a prima facie case and prove Tahawwur Rana’s potential role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, acknowledging that he was one of the first accused to be arrested in connection with the case.
The NIA court also said that the terror attack conspiracy travels beyond India, and involved multiple targets in multiple cities in the country, including the national capital, which were sought to be identified through probe.
Rana was brought to the NIA headquarters early Friday morning after a Delhi court granted 18-day custody to the NIA, following his extradition from the US. Granting him the custody, additional sessions judge (NIA) Chander Jit Singh observed that Rana’s sustained custodial interrogation was required to expose the deep-rooted conspiracy in the matter.
“There is enough material to say that allegations in the present matter pertain to the safety and security of the nation. The material produced on record reflects that the conspiracy in question travels beyond the geographical border of India, and multiple targets in the form of various places in multiple cities of India, including the national capital, were sought to be identified. Thus, to reach the root of the matter and to unearth the facts in the matter which are laid in a deep-rooted conspiracy, a sustained custodial interrogation is required,” the judge said in the order, as reported by Times Of India.
“His (Rana) prolonged custody has been deemed necessary to facilitate an extensive interrogation aimed at uncovering deeper layers of the conspiracy. We suspect that the tactics used in the Mumbai attacks were intended for execution in other cities as well, prompting investigators to examine whether similar plots were developed elsewhere,” the NIA informed the judge.
The court further said that since Rana is the first accused apprehended in the case, the NIA should be given a fair chance to conduct a thorough investigation in the matter in order to present complete facts in a holistic manner before the court.
The judge also noted that while section 167 of the erstwhile CrPC (applicable to this case) limits police custody to 15 days, UAPA section 43-D allows for a custody of up to 30 days.
Rana denied having any legal representative to represent him, when the court asked him. However, he did acknowledge being supplied with grounds of arrest by NIA in writing.
Considering Rana’s request that any lawyer assigned to represent him should not seek to earn fame through him, the special judge directed the legal aid counsel (LACS) not to speak to the media about the 26/11 attack accused. The court also directed the NIA to conduct a medical examination of Rana every 24 hours, and allow him to meet his lawyer every alternate day.
“If the details of legal services counsel are not already known to the media, they shall not be divulged,” the judge directed.
Rana has been charged with numerous offenses, including conspiracy, murder, commission of a terrorist act, and forgery in the country.
(With inputs from news agency PTI.)
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