Tahawwur Rana ‘talking’ as money trail in questioning focus

Tahawwur Rana, the 64-year-old accused of playing a key role in planning the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is “talking” in what have become intense interrogation sessions that lasted close to 10 hours on Saturday, officials aware of the matter said, and added that the most recent focus of investigators were his connections to Pakistani handlers and terror outfits.

Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian citizen, is only the second person to stand trial in India for the attacks that killed 166 people and injured 238 others. His interrogation, which is being videographed, focuses on “his conversations with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), army and ISI handlers of Headley based in Pakistan, before and after the attacks,” according to a senior official.

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“These are operational details which cannot be shared as investigation is at a crucial stage,” said an officer requesting anonymity, while confirming that Rana is cooperating with interrogators.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and central intelligence agencies have been questioning Rana since his extradition from the US last Thursday, marking the first time Indian authorities have in custody a mastermind of the 2008 attacks.

The extensive questioning covers the entire conspiracy hatched around 2005 when Headley was directed by LeT to conduct reconnaissance in India.

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A special court in Delhi granted the NIA 18 days’ custody after Rana was brought to India on a special aircraft, a Gulfstream G550, that first stopped in Dubai before landing in Delhi at around 6pm on Thursday. “If required, Rana’s further custody will also be sought after 18 days,” the officer said, adding that procedures are being followed just as they would be for other arrested individuals.

Crucial to join the dots in the case, Rana, according to a second officer on Saturday, is being asked about his meetings and email conversations with Pakistan-based handlers as well as “how he was managing funds to run a non-operative immigration office – Immigration Law Centre – in Mumbai, which worked as a cover for Headley’s surveillance activities between 2006 and 2009”.

“Interrogation sessions are likely to last around 9 to 10 hours long with meals, prayer breaks and other daily wants, but we want to make the most of this custody period,” said a third officer.

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Rana is being treated “as any other arrested person with no special treatment,” officials emphasised. He has been provided with a copy of the Quran at his request and is observed offering Namaz five times daily in his cell at the agency headquarters. “He requested for a copy of Quran which we provided. He is seen offering Namaz five times in his cell,” said an officer, describing Rana as a “religious man.”

Besides the Quran, Rana asked for pen and paper, which have been provided, though he remains under close observation to ensure he doesn’t use the pen to harm himself. “Beyond that, he has not made any other demands,” the officer noted.

As per court directives, Rana is allowed to meet a lawyer provided by the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) every alternate day, and undergoes medical examination every 48 hours. “All procedures are being followed, like for other arrested individuals,” confirmed another officer.

The investigation documents reveal that when Headley was in Mumbai in the fall of 2006, he rented an apartment, signed a lease for office space for Rana’s immigration business, hired a secretary for the business, put advertisements in newspapers and printed fliers for the business.

“In signing the lease for office space, Headley used a letter from Rana’s business partner claiming that Headley served as the company’s South Asian Regional Director, represented the Immigration Law Center’s interests in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and had the authority to negotiate contracts, sign an office lease, and open bank accounts on behalf of the business. During its period of alleged operation, the Mumbai office of the Immigration Law Center generated little to no business,” reveals NIA’s court documents.

Headley testified before the US courts and disclosed to the NIA in 2010 when a team visited there that “people sometimes responded to the advertisements he placed, and he would sometimes refer them to Rana for a consultation,” said the third officer.

“Headley stated there were some very small payments made by clients and that they obtained no visas for any clients in India between October 2006 and September 2007, but they did service of Rana’s clients from Chicago. Headley also stated that if a client paid money and did not receive a visa, the money was returned,” this officer said.

NIA, a fourth officer said, had recorded the statements of those individuals who had paid money to obtain visas. Some of them said that money was refunded to them when visa was not successful.

“Since no immigration work whatsoever was actually carried out by the office Headley established for Rana in Mumbai and even a secretary was hired at this office, we are trying to ask Rana who transferred funds to run this office,” said this officer.