Synopsis
This article discusses the implications of Tahawwur Rana's health claims as a strategy to evade memory recall regarding his involvement in the 26/11 terror attacks. Investigators suspect these assertions may hinder the investigation into his past activities and connections.Key Takeaways
- Tahawwur Rana is a key figure in the 26/11 attacks.
- His health claims may hinder the investigation.
- NIA interrogates Rana daily for information.
- Rana's travels in India are under scrutiny.
- Legal implications arise from his rights as an accused.
New Delhi, April 13 (NationPress) As the key conspirator of the 26/11 attacks, Tahawwur Rana has shown reluctance to face trial in India. His interrogators at the NIA suspect that his claims regarding Parkinson’s disease and other ailments in his medical history could be a calculated effort to explain his diminishing memory when questioned about the 17-year-old terrorist assault.
Although Rana may appear ill and fatigued, officials assert he remains mentally sharp and alert. He is currently being interrogated about sleeper cells and the funding of his operations, along with his prior visit to India before the Mumbai attack.
The NIA is conducting daily interrogations lasting about three hours, with medical assessments occurring every 48 hours, as reported by officials.
Rana's stays in Delhi, Hapur, and Agra during 2008 have raised suspicions among NIA agents, who are eager to acquire details regarding his Indian accomplice, identified as “B”, and the Indian relatives of his wife, Samraz Rana Akhtar, who accompanied him on his visit.
Additionally, Rana and his wife visited Mumbai and stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which was a target during the attack that resulted in the deaths of 166 individuals. The couple also traveled to Kochi and Ahmedabad.
Investigators are currently probing whether these travels were part of a reconnaissance mission intended for a Mumbai-like assault to gain maximum international attention.
Sources indicate that Rana's keen situational awareness and meticulous planning prior to his arrival in India can be inferred from his requests regarding the selection of defense attorneys, his appeal to the judge for medical assistance, and discussions with attorneys about his rights as an accused.
“He sought less publicized lawyers and requested the court to prevent them from engaging with the media,” disclosed a source familiar with the court proceedings.
After the court appointed lawyers Piyush Sachdeva and Lakhshya Dheer from the Legal Services Authority, Rana urged them to assert his rights in court, as an accused, under the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution.
The Fifth Amendment guarantees numerous rights concerning criminal procedures and property rights, including the right to a grand jury indictment for serious crimes, protection against double jeopardy, the privilege against self-incrimination, and the assurance of due process before property can be seized for public use.
While contesting Rana's extradition to India, his lawyers in the US raised concerns about his health and questioned the rationale behind subjecting him to a second trial (this time in India) after he had been acquitted of similar charges in the US.
His attorney, John D. Cline, opposed the extradition, asserting, “Extraditing Rana to face the death penalty in India would set a disturbing precedent, undermining the finality of acquittal by a jury of ordinary American citizens after a full and fair trial.
NIA investigators may seek to transport Rana to other cities, pending court approval, according to officials.
The 64-year-old Pakistani-Canadian, along with his co-conspirator David Coleman Headley, collaborated with Pakistan-based terrorist organizations and the ISI to execute the Mumbai attack, which commenced on November 26, 2008, and continued until November 29, resulting in 166 fatalities, including six US nationals.
The assailants arrived via a fishing community in Mumbai on a boat, dispersing throughout the city to conduct shootings and bombings at 12 different locations. They were equipped with layout plans and blueprints of their four primary targets – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident, and Nariman House.
