Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 12: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is intensifying its interrogation of extradited 26/11 terrorist Tahawwur Rana, focusing on uncovering the identity and role of a mysterious Dubai-based plotter and a local aide who supported David Coleman Headley during his reconnaissance missions in Mumbai ahead of the 2008 terror attacks.
Sources revealed that the 64-year-old Pakistani-Canadian, currently under tight surveillance in his NIA cell to prevent any suicide attempts, is being questioned about individuals who may have had prior knowledge of the deadly attacks. Among them is a Dubai-based contact, suspected to be a key player in the planning and coordination of the operation.
Investigators are also probing potential involvement of notorious gangster-turned-terrorist Dawood Ibrahim or his D-Company’s Dubai network in the wider conspiracy.
Rana, a former Pakistan Army Medical Corps officer and childhood friend of David Headley, is alleged to have provided crucial logistical support to Headley, including facilitating his travel and stay in India. While Rana claims memory lapses regarding the events, he has admitted to being in Mumbai at least a week before the attacks began on November 26, 2008.
A fresh voice sample from Rana has been sent for forensic analysis to match it with intercepted calls between him and other co-conspirators post-attack, according to sources.
The NIA believes Rana met the Dubai contact on Headley’s instructions. Investigators say the terror plot was meticulously planned over a three-year period beginning in 2005, with Rana playing a support role while Headley executed ground-level reconnaissance.
Earlier in 2010, NIA officials interrogated Headley—also known as Daood Gilani—in the US following his conviction there for his involvement in the 26/11 plot. His Mumbai accomplice, who helped him set up an office and facilitated scouting of key locations like the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and Chabad House, is now being prepared by NIA to be confronted with Rana during the ongoing questioning.
Headley is said to have used satellite-based geotagging technology to help Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists pinpoint their targets with precision. The coordinates provided detailed layouts of the four main targets—Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident, and Nariman House.
Armed with this intelligence, 10 heavily armed terrorists arrived via a hijacked boat at a fishermen’s colony in Mumbai and launched coordinated attacks across 12 sites, claiming 166 lives, including six Americans.
Rana’s ongoing 18-day interrogation may also provide new leads on the roles of other Pakistani handlers, including Ilyas Kashmiri, Abdur Rehman, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, and Sajid Majeed Mir—figures believed to have orchestrated different elements of the deadly operation.
In addition to tactical details, Rana has shared personal information with investigators, including his early life in Pakistan, medical studies, and his immigration journey. He and his wife, both doctors, became Canadian citizens in 2001 before settling in the U.S., where Rana later opened an immigration and travel business in Chicago.