26/11 Mumbai attacks: Probing code words used by Tahawwur Rana, co-accused: Officials

Tahawwur Rana, the 64-year-old Pakistani-born Canadian citizen, extradited from the US to India earlier this month for his role in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, is being interrogated about his “coded communications” with co-accused David Coleman Headley, Major Abdul Rehman Hashim Syed alias ‘Pasha’ and Sajid Majid alias Sajid Mir to discuss further targets identified by them for another terror strike in India, officials familiar with the matter said.

While Headley carried out reconnaissance for Mumbai attacks, and then later for new targets in 2009, Pasha, a former retired major in Pakistan military , was his main handler from Pakistan’s spy agency ISI and Mir, the main Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handler for the 26/11 attacks, in which 166 people including six American citizens were killed.

The US government extradited Rana to India on April 10 following which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested him and is currently interrogating him at its headquarters on Lodhi Road, Delhi. A Delhi court on Monday granted his custody for another 12 days to the agency.

According to investigations by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Indian agencies, LeT and ISI planned to follow up the 26/11 terror attack withmore attacks and the four co-conspirators (Rana, Headley, Pasha and Mir) used code words such as “investments,” “projects,” “property”, “business,” “action” in their telephonic, email and in-person communications to discuss the plans and targets. They also used code such as getting “rich,” “richer,” and making “profit” on many occasions

“During a conversation in early September 2009, Rana and Headley discussed five actions involving targets including the Denmark plot (a failed attempt to target a newspaper office in Copenhagen). We are carrying out Rana’s intensive interrogation, including his coded communications to know the other targets of ISI and LeT other than those already disclosed by Headley during his questioning by a NIA team in the US in 2010,” said a senior officer, who asked not to be named.

Rana, a second officer said, h claimed before the US investigators that some of these words like business were references to potential ventures (in India).

“However, it is clear that Headley discussed several targets with Rana including (Gujarat’s) Somnath temple, Bollywood and (Mumbai’s) Shiv Sena Bhawan. Headley also carried out reconnaissance at the National Defence College, India Gate, Vice President’s residence, Paharganj, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) HQ (all in New Delhi) in 2009. Since Rana was in touch with Pasha and Mir through emails and even met Pasha in Dubai, he would be aware of LeT and ISI’s other targets/plans which were discussed in code language,”added this officer.

NIA has claimed in its court documents that Rana was part of conspiracy behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack since 2006 and visited India between November 13 and 21, 2008. Just before the attacks, he was in Dubai and met Pasha and later went to China. From China, he travelled back to the US on the first day of attack, November 26, 2008.