26/11 terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana's judicial custody extended till July 9

A court here on Friday extended, till July 9, the judicial custody of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana.

Rana was produced before Special Judge Chander Jit Singh through video conference upon the expiry of the previously granted judicial custody.

The Patiala House Court asked Tihar authorities to file a status report by June 9 after Rana’s counsel raised his deteriorating health condition. As per the latest order, Rana, a former officer of the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps, will remain under judicial custody till July 9.

On May 9, a special NIA Court had sent Rana to judicial custody till June 6, marking a temporary break in questioning by the federal anti-terror agency.

The NIA had collected voice and handwriting samples of Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian national, in court as a precursor to match them with recordings of his telephonic discussions with 26/11 co-accused David Coleman Headley, an official said.

Rana, who was recently extradited from the US, is suspected to have passed on to Headley handwritten notes sharing instructions, coordinates, and maps which were used to scout 26/11 targets. The NIA also had plans to take Rana to Mumbai and other cities to reconstruct the chain of events preceding the terror attack that left 166 people dead.

In April, the Special NIA court extended Rana’s NIA custody by 12 more days to allow investigators to question him. Special Judge Charan Jit Singh accepted senior advocate Dayan Krishnan’s plea that the investigating agency needed more time to uncover Rana’s role in the Mumbai attack of 2008. Rana was presented in court for an extension of his NIA custody after his 18-day remand ended on April 28. During the court proceedings, the Special Judge was informed by the NIA about the alleged evasive technique adopted by Rana during questioning.

During his NIA remand, Rana was also questioned by Mumbai Police officers. In the interrogation, Rana claimed that he had "no connection whatsoever" with the planning or execution of the attack. He also claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused Headley was solely responsible for the reconnaissance and planning aspects of 26/11.

Headley is currently in a US jail. Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to conducting recce missions across India, including in Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

During questioning, Rana said that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he had also travelled to Kerala. When asked about the purpose of his visit to Kerala, he claimed he had gone there to meet a known acquaintance and had provided the individual's name and address to the agency. Rana was extradited to India from the US recently to stand trial in the Mumbai attack case.