Tahawwur Rana, a key figure in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, has reportedly been evasive during extensive questioning by Indian investigators, providing limited insight into the financial dimensions of his operations and his connections to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), sources revealed on Monday.
Rana, 64, who operated a Chicago-based immigration and travel agency, has been under intense scrutiny by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Over the course of more than 10 hours of interrogation, interspersed with meals and medical checkups, investigators focused on unraveling details about Rana’s business operations and his spiked communication with co-conspirator David Coleman Headley, also known as Daood Gilani, leading up to the November 26, 2008, attack.
Sources noted that Rana has requested a personal diary to document key questions and his responses during his 18-day interrogation. This meticulous note-keeping is likely an attempt to remain consistent in his statements regarding the attack, which claimed 166 lives, including six American citizens.
Investigators are pressing Rana on several pivotal aspects of the 26/11 planning and execution. These include Headley’s establishment of a cover office in Mumbai and his use of satellite geotagging to scout and identify targets, information later passed to handlers of the 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants.
Rana, a former officer in Pakistan’s Army Medical Corps, has expressed memory lapses on certain aspects of the nearly 17-year-old event. However, the NIA is seeking detailed accounts of the three years of groundwork allegedly orchestrated by LeT and ISI operatives, which culminated in the attacks spanning November 26-29, 2008.
Additionally, Rana is being questioned about the identities of individuals whose names emerged in intercepted communications between the attackers, their handlers, and ISI operatives. Notable figures include ISI’s Major Iqbal, also known as Major Samir Ali, and other individuals referred to in coded aliases such as Pasha, Nana, Wasi, and Tayya.
The investigation also seeks clarity on the roles of Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) and LeT operatives, including Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, Sajid Majid, Ilyas Kashmiri, and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. The NIA aims to uncover insights into the broader nexus between these individuals and the entities involved in planning and executing the attack.
The 26/11 Mumbai attacks remain one of the darkest chapters in modern history, and unraveling the intricate planning behind the atrocity is crucial for India’s ongoing counter-terrorism efforts. Investigators are determined to extract pivotal intelligence from Rana, despite his evasive responses and claimed lapses in recollection.
