Tihar authorities directed to respond to 26/11 mastermind Tahawwur Rana’s plea to speak to family from jail
The NIA had opposed Tahawwur Rana's first application in the Delhi court, stating that the investigation in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case was at a crucial stage and that the agency didn't want any interference.
For now, Tahawwur Rana is allowed to meet his lawyers every other day in the presence of NIA officials, who will be at a hearing distance. (Express Photo) A Delhi court on Wednesday directed Tihar Jail authorities to submit a report in response to an application moved by Tahawwur Rana, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack conspirator, seeking permission to speak to his family members while in judicial custody.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit had in April dismissed a similar application moved by Rana when he was in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Rana is currently in judicial custody till June 6.
The NIA had opposed his first application, stating that the investigation was at a crucial stage and that the agency didn’t want any interference. There was also an apprehension, said sources, that Rana might leak sensitive information related to the case.
For now, Rana is allowed to meet his lawyers every other day in the presence of NIA officials, who will be at a hearing distance. He will be provided with a pen and paper during the meeting.
The Pakistani-Canadian was arrested in Chicago in 2009, the year after the terror attacks in which 166 people were killed. He arrived in Delhi on April 10 following his extradition from the US.
According to the NIA, Rana was also involved in planning future attacks in India and had met Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative Abdur Rehman in Dubai ahead of the Mumbai attacks.
Rana is accused of aiding and abetting the reconnaissance carried out by LeT scout David Coleman Headley, with whom he went to school in Pakistan, for the 26/11 attacks and of participating in the conspiracy by providing crucial logistical support to the attackers. He was arrested in Chicago in 2009, months after the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008, in which 166 people were killed.
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