Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 13: As investigations intensify into the role of Tahawwur Rana, one of the key conspirators behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is expanding its scope to probe additional Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) plots, including the 2004 foiled assassination attempt on then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, now the Prime Minister of India.
Sources in the agency revealed that Rana, currently in custody, is expected to be questioned not only about the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 dead, but also about his alleged links to earlier LeT operations, specifically the Ishrat Jahan module, which was neutralised in Gujarat in June 2004.
NIA officials suspect that Rana, who is known to have joined LeT around that time, may hold vital information about the planning and operatives involved in the attempted suicide attack on Modi. Investigators believe that David Coleman Headley, Rana’s close associate and fellow LeT operative, may have shared insider intelligence with him regarding the Ishrat Jahan plot.
On June 15, 2004, Gujarat Police reported that Ishrat Jahan, along with three others, was shot dead by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch while allegedly en route to carry out a terror strike targeting Modi. Though the operation was hailed as a counter-terrorism success at the time, it later became embroiled in political controversy when the UPA government faced allegations of trying to portray the incident as a “fake encounter” to malign the then chief minister.
David Headley, during his testimony to U.S. authorities, confirmed Ishrat Jahan’s involvement with LeT and her role in the failed assassination attempt. Headley’s deep ties to the Pakistan-based terror outfit and his close working relationship with Rana in the years leading up to 26/11 has now placed Rana at the center of broader investigations into LeT’s operations on Indian soil.
NIA sources said Rana’s interrogation could uncover critical intelligence on LeT’s sleeper cells, logistical networks, and undisclosed collaborators active in India during the early 2000s. The agency hopes his questioning will provide further clarity on LeT’s long-term strategy, particularly plots that predate the Mumbai attacks.
With pressure mounting to uncover hidden layers of past terror plots, Rana’s testimony could prove to be a game-changer — not only in reaffirming Headley’s claims, but also in exposing the operational footprint of Pakistan-backed terror modules operating under the radar during a politically charged era.