Tahawwur Rana Under Suicide Watch, Only Allowed Soft-Tipped Pen At NIA Prison
The Mumbai terror attack co-conspirator, Tahawwur Rana, who was extradited earlier this week and granted 18-day National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody, is held in a highly secure cell. He is under suicide watch and is only permitted a soft-tipped pen to prevent any self-harm.
However, a Delhi court, in its order, directed the NIA to conduct a medical examination of Rana every 24 hours and allow him to meet his lawyer every alternate day.
According to a report by The Times Of India (TOI), the Pakistani-Canadian is under 24x7 human and CCTV surveillance. The headquarters of the NIA in Lodhi Road, Delhi, has multi-layered security. Rana’s cell, located on the ground floor of the HQ and is 14x14 in size.
Only 12 officers are authorised to enter and provide all basic necessities – meals, drinking water, medical provisions are delivered to him inside his cell, according to an NDTV report. It further said that the headquarters have been turned into a fortress since Rana's arrival, as security has been heightened with the deployment of additional Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel. No one is allowed inside without proper clearance.
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His extradition from the United States marked the end of a 16-year-long wait to prosecute one of the key accused in the deadly November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which claimed the lives of 166 people and left more than 238 injured.
‘Deeper Layers Of Conspiracy’
Rana’s interrogation began on Friday to uncover the “deeper layers of the conspiracy”. NIA told a Delhi Court that it suspects Rana had plans to target other Indian cities as well, with similar large-scale strikes.
According to a PTI report, NIA further told the court that it needed to investigate links with other terrorists and those accused in the 26/11 attack, especially with his close associate David Coleman Headley, a US citizen, and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI) along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the three-day terror siege of India's financial capital.
The NIA’s interrogation is focused on getting more details on his possible connection with Pakistan-based LeT, which had orchestrated the strike.
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