Rana being interrogated to unravel larger conspiracy behind attacks: Sources

Mumbai terror attacks key mastermind Tahawwur Hussain Rana is being interrogated for eight to ten hours daily by the National Investigation Agency NIA sleuths to unravel a larger conspiracy behind the dreaded strikes official sources said on MondayThe NIA officials are ensuring Ranas medical checkup and he is being allowed to meet his lawyer according to the order of a Delhi court that had on early Friday morning granted 18day custody to the probe agency following his extradition from the US they saidThe sources said Rana is being grilled by the NIA investigators for around eight to ten hours daily to probe a larger conspiracy behind the 2008 dastardly strikes orchestrated by Pakistanbased terrorist group LashkareTaiba and in which 166 people were killed and over 238 injuredRana has been cooperating during the questioning a source said adding that a team of NIA officials led by Chief Investigating Officer Jaya Roy is interrogating himSources said Rana has so far requested only three things mdash a pen paper or a notepad and the Quran mdash all of which have been provided to himThey said there has not been any specific foodrelated demand raised by Rana so far and he is being provided with food items which are given to any other accused according to the standard protocols meant to deal with such subjectsThe sources said the dreaded terror attacks plotter is kept in a highlysecured cell inside the antiterror agencys head office here at the CGO Complex and is guarded by security personnel roundtheclockThe 64yearold Pakistaniorigin Canadian businessman is said to be grilled on the basis of various leads gathered by the probe agency during the course of its investigation including a large number of phone calls between him and his coconspirator David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani a US citizen currently in prisons in that countryThe investigators also hope to find some important leads on his travels in parts of northern and southern India days before the carnage in the countrys financial capital on November 26 2008 the sources saidThe antiterror agency had produced Rana before the NIA Special Court at Patiala House after formally placing him under arrest following his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International IGI airport here on April 10 upon his extradition from the USRana has been charged with numerous offences including conspiracy murder commission of a terrorist act and forgery in the countryThe NIA had secured Ranas extradition from the US following years of sustained efforts and after the terror masterminds lastditch efforts to get a stay on his extradition from the US failedThe antiterror agency had registered a case on November 11 2009 under sections 121 A of Indian Penal Code IPC Section 18 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Section 62 SAARC Convention Suppression of Terrorism Act against Headley his childhood friend Rana and othersDuring the NIA investigation the roles of senior functionaries of terror groups LeT and Harkatul Jihadi Islami HuJI Hafiz Muhammad Saeed alias Tayyaji ZakiurRehman Lakhvi Sajjid Majid alias Wasi Illyas Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed alias Major Abdurrehman alias Pasha had also emergedThese conspirators worked in active connivance with officials from Pakistans spy agency ISI namely Major Iqbal alias Major Ali and Major Sameer Ali alias Major Samir according to the NIA probeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params