26/11 accused Rana to land in Delhi today, Centre appoints Narender Mann special public prosecutor
The Centre has appointed a special public prosecutor to conduct a trial in the high-profile National Investigation Agency (NIA) case linked to 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who is being extradited from the US and is expected to arrive here on Thursday.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, advocate Narender Mann will represent the NIA in the case against Rana and David Coleman Headley before NIA Special Courts in Delhi and Appellate Courts. His appointment is for a term of three years or until the trial concludes.
Before this case, Mann has advocated in many cases as a public prosecutor. According to official sources, Mann had argued in the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) paper leak case in 2018.
Keeping in mind his track record, the Center has appointed him as the public prosecutor in this high-profile case.
Rana, 64, a Pakistan-born Canadian national and close associate of one of the main conspirators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks David Coleman Headley, alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen, is being brought to Delhi from the US by a special NIA team.
Officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Department have left the US for India with Rana in a special plane.
Meanwhile, security has been stepped up outside Delhi’s Patiala House Court where Rana is likely to be produced today following his extradition from the US, an official said.
Personnel from paramilitary forces and the Delhi Police have been deployed outside the court and a thorough physical frisking and checking of visitors is being carried out to avoid any untoward incident, he said.
An NIA judge is expected to hear the matter.
Tihar Jail officials said all preparations have been made to lodge Rana in a high-security prison ward and they were waiting for court orders.
A Delhi court has also received the trial records of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks ahead of Rana’s arrival in India from the US, a court source said.
The records were received by the court of District Judge Vimal Kumar Yadav recently in pursuance of his January 28 direction to the staff of a Mumbai court to send the records.
The judge passed the order on an application moved by the National Investigation Agency in Delhi, seeking to retrieve the records from Mumbai.
The trial court records were previously sent to Mumbai due to the presence of multiple cases related to the 26/11 attacks in both cities. —with PTI
India