In one of its most sensitive interrogations since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun questioning Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the Pakistani-origin Canadian citizen accused of aiding the terror conspiracy.
Rana was formally arrested upon his arrival at Delhi’s Palam airport on Thursday following extradition from the United States.
Rana, 64, is currently lodged in a high-security 14-by-14-foot room within the NIA headquarters, under constant CCTV surveillance. A team of 12 specially assigned officers is conducting the interrogation, which began at 10 a.m. on Friday.
Each session is being meticulously recorded in an “interrogation diary”, with a formal disclosure statement to be submitted in court upon conclusion of his 18-day custodial remand.
Top NIA officials confirmed that a robust line of questioning has been drawn up, targeting Rana’s connections with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), his association with David Coleman Headley—currently imprisoned in the US—and his suspected involvement with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Officials have sought to trace Rana’s activities during his India visit from 8 to 21 November 2008—just days before the terror siege.
Investigators have posed the following questions:
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Where was Rana on the night of 26 November 2008?
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Why did he travel to India that month?
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Whom did he meet and what were the objectives of that visit?
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How well was he acquainted with the 26/11 plot?
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What role did he play in securing a fake visa for Headley?
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Did he assist in identifying targets or offering logistical support?
A senior NIA official said, “Our focus is not only on Rana’s proximity to Headley but also on whether he was directly involved in operational planning or merely a facilitator.”
Rana is also being quizzed about his alleged meetings with LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, and the kind of support—financial, logistical or strategic—he may have extended to the banned outfit.
The NIA's questions aim to extract:
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Details of his first interaction with Hafiz Saeed
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Whether a quid pro quo arrangement existed
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His awareness of LeT’s recruitment, funding and arms supply chains
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Identities and roles of other LeT operatives he may have encountered
In a critical segment of the interrogation, the agency is attempting to ascertain ISI's involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
Among the questions posed:
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Was the ISI acting independently or with government sanction?
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Did it fund and train attackers directly?
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Was there live communication between ISI handlers and gunmen?
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Who from ISI was coordinating with LeT?
The NIA is also examining the broader operational ecosystem that enabled such an attack.
Officials are probing:
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Methods of radicalisation used to recruit foot soldiers for suicide missions
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LeT’s camp structure and training protocols
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Who sanctioned the final execution of the Mumbai plot
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Whether attacks on other Indian cities were being planned
“The hope is that Rana’s responses could help us connect remaining dots, identify active handlers and bring new players under scrutiny,” an NIA source said.
Rana’s arrest and subsequent grilling come after years of diplomatic efforts by India to secure his extradition.
With the interrogation underway, officials believe they may be on the brink of key breakthroughs in unraveling the deeper architecture of the 26/11 conspiracy—one that left 166 people dead and over 300 injured.
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