'Tahawwur Rana was plotting attacks in other cities like Mumbai', NIA claims

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) informed the court in Delhi on April 10 that Pakistan-born Canadian citizen Tahawwur Rana was planning terror attacks in other Indian cities including Mumbai. The NIA made this assertion in the court of Special Judge Chandrajit Singh. The judge put Tahawwur Rana under NIA custody for 18 days following the hearing.

Judge Chandrajit Singh in his ruling ordered the NIA to conduct the medical examination of Tahawwur Rana every 24 hours and he should be permitted to meet his lawyer on alternate days. But this meeting will be conducted in the presence of an NIA officer. The NIA officer shall be required to be present some distance away during the meeting between Tahawwur Rana and his lawyer but only at such a distance that he can hear both of them.

During the hearing, the NIA argued that detailed interrogation would be needed to expose the entire conspiracy of the Mumbai attack and he would need to be taken to the places of attack so that the crime scene could be recreated. The DIG of NIA, an IG, and five DCPs of Delhi Police were present in the court during the hearing. Tahawwur Rana was extradited from the US on Thursday and brought to India. Bringing Mumbai attack conspirator Tahawwur Rana to India is being considered a major diplomatic victory for India.

It is worth mentioning that 166 people were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. Apart from this, hundreds of people were injured. Many policemen were martyred in this attack, including three senior officers of Mumbai Police. 10 terrorists of the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba from Pakistan carried out this horrific attack. One of these terrorists, Ajmal Kasab, was caught alive and was hanged in the year 2012.