Aaj Ki Janta

New Delhi, April 13, 2025 — The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has launched an intensive interrogation of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, following his recent extradition from the United States. The 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman was brought to the NIA headquarters early Friday morning after a Delhi court granted 18-day custody to the central investigative agency.

Rana is being questioned over his alleged links with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which masterminded the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people and left over 238 injured.

The NIA stated that multiple leads prompted the questioning, including a large number of phone calls between Rana and co-conspirator David Coleman Headley, also known as Daood Gilani. Headley, a US national, is currently serving a prison sentence in the United States for his role in the attacks.

Investigators are also probing a 2005 conspiracy timeline, when Headley was allegedly instructed by LeT to carry out reconnaissance missions in India. Rana’s suspected travel across northern and southern India, just days before the attacks, is under scrutiny.

Another focus of the investigation is an alleged key contact in Dubai, whom Rana reportedly met and who is believed to have had foreknowledge of the attack plans.

“The agency will utilize the full 18-day custody to uncover the entire conspiracy behind one of the deadliest terror attacks on Indian soil,” the NIA said in an official statement.

Rana’s extradition is seen as a major step in bringing justice to the victims of 26/11, and the NIA hopes that his custodial interrogation will unearth critical new details regarding the planning and coordination of the attack.