NIA Court allows 3 phone calls to Tahawwur Rana’s brother for new counsel

NEW DELHI: Tahawwur Rana, accused of masterminding the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has been granted permission for three phone calls with his brother to discuss engaging a lawyer for his defence.

A special NIA court at Delhi’s Patiala House court on Wednesday granted Tahawwur Rana 3 phone calls with his brother this month. The calls will be recorded and take place in the presence of a senior jail officer, with conversations limited to Hindi or English.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander Jit Singh on Wednesday extended the judicial custody of Tahawwur Rana till September 8. He was produced through video conferencing after expiry of his judicial custody.

Rana’s counsel, Piyush Sachdev, sought more time to scrutinise the documents of the charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet. The matter is at the stage of scrutiny of documents after the filing of a supplementary charge sheet by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

On August 1, the court disposed of an application of Rana seeking a regular telephone facility for his family because of the denial of the facility by the jail authorities. Earlier, he was permitted to make a single call to his family.

Rana is in judicial custody after NIA interrogation in the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack case. He was extradited from the USA in April this year. Earlier, NIA on July 9, filed a supplementary charge sheet against Tahawur Rana in the 26/11 Mumbai terror case.

This supplementary charge sheet contains procedural documents, including an arrest memo, a seizure memo, and other documents, Rana’s counsel had told ANI. The NIA filed the main charge sheet in December 2011.

On June 9, the Court had permitted Tahawwur Rana to make a single phone call to his family for the time being. The call was strictly conducted in accordance with jail regulations and under the supervision of a senior official from the Tihar jail authorities. Recently, the NIA collected voice and handwriting samples from Rana, who was extradited from the United States.

The NIA had previously informed the court that Rana was confronted with substantial evidence related to the 26/11 attacks. The agency argued for further custody, citing his evasive behaviour during questioning and lack of cooperation. Special Public Prosecutor Narender Mann represented the NIA in the proceedings.

Rana was extradited in April in connection with his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The devastating attack, orchestrated by Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed over 170 lives and left hundreds injured. (ANI)