26/11 Attack: Tahawwur Rana Seeks Permission from NIA Court to Speak To Family over Phone

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Pakistani-Canadian citizen and Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana on Tuesday filed a petition in the special NIA court seeking permission to talk to his family members over phone from jail. The NIA special court may hear his petition on Wednesday. In his petition, Rana claimed that his conversation with family members is necessary as they would be worried about him. Last month, a similar request filed by Rana was rejected by the NIA court.

On April 24, Special Judge Chander Jeet Singh had rejected Rana's plea seeking permission to speak to his family. The court had given this decision after the NIA opposed his plea. During the hearing, the NIA argued that if Rana is allowed to talk to his family members, he can share many important information during the conversation. Rana, a former Pakistan Army Medical Corps officer, was recently extradited from the US to India to face trial in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, which killed 166 people and injured hundreds on November 26, 2008. On May 9, the special court had sent Rana to judicial custody till June 6, leading to a temporary pause in interrogation by the NIA. On May 3, an official said, the NIA collected voice and handwriting samples of Rana in the presence of a judge for matching them with the recordings of his telephone conversations with 26/11 co-accused David Coleman Headley.

Rana is suspected to have given Headley handwritten notes, sharing instructions and maps, which were used for reconnaissance of 26/11 targets. Rana was also questioned by Mumbai police officials during his NIA remand. During the interrogation, Rana claimed that he had "no connection" with the planning or execution of the attack. He also claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused Headley was solely responsible for the recce and planning aspects of 26/11. Headley is currently in a US jail. Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to carrying out reconnaissance missions across India, including Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). During the interrogation, Rana said that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he had also visited Kerala. When asked about the purpose of his visit to Kerala, he claimed that he had gone there to meet someone he knew and had also told the agency the name and address of the person.