New Delhi: Barricaded entry points, columns of Delhi Police personnel and an elaborate security umbrella of SWAT commandos made Patiala House Court complex a near fortress late Thursday ahead of the appearance of Tahawwur Rana, 26/11-accused Canadian-Pakistani immigration consultant, before a judge.
Passing an order around 2 am Friday, Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) 18 days’ custody of Rana.
On Thursday evening, Rana was formally arrested at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after a special NIA team landed there following his extradition to India from the US.
The NIA Thursday said it had “successfully secured” Rana’s extradition after years of “sustained and concerted efforts to bring the key conspirator behind the 2008 mayhem to justice”.
Rana is the first of nine accused named in a chargesheet filed by the NIA in December 2011 as part of its probe into the 26/11 terror attack—that claimed the lives of 166 people and lasted for three days—to be brought back to India.
The court hearing was held behind closed doors with only officials dealing with the case allowed in along with lawyers from the prosecution side—advocates Dayan Krishnan and special public prosecutor Narender Mann, as well as Piyush Sachdev, representing Rana as legal aid counsel.
The NIA had sought 20 days of custody, people familiar with the matter told ThePrint, adding that a call on seeking further custody would be taken later.
“All depends on what all processes can be completed in 18 days of custody. He could be taken to Mumbai to further corroborate the facts of the case, and it would require time,” a person familiar with the matter said.
An NIA spokesperson said that in 18 days of custody, Rana will be asked to unravel the entire chain of events leading up to the attack in November 2008 and the whole conspiracy behind it.
“Rana will remain in NIA custody for 18 days, during which time the agency will question him in detail in order to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the deadly 2008 attacks,” the spokesperson said after Rana’s custody was secured from the court.
Rana was formally arrested right after he deboarded the special aircraft used by a special team comprising officers from the NIA and National Security Guard.
“On 9 April, the US Marshals Service executed the Secretary’s surrender warrant by surrendering Rana to Indian authorities for transportation to India. Rana’s extradition is now complete,” the US Department of Justice said in a statement.
Around 10.30 pm Thursday, the NIA brought Rana to the Patiala House Court complex directly from the airport, amid heavy security including a bulletproof vehicle of commandos in the convoy. He was lodged in the prison van of the Delhi Police’s Nayayik Abhiraksha Vahini, which ferries prisoners to courts in the city.
Additionally, top officers of New Delhi districts—DCP Devesh Kumar Mahla, Additional DCPs Sumit Kumar Jha and Anand Kumar Mishra—were present till the entire proceedings concluded in court, and the NIA left the complex with Rana around 3 am Friday.
Speaking to reporters outside court, advocate Sachdev said that judge granted 18 days of custody after much deliberation, and Rana would be brought back before the court after the period is over.
He also said the court has mandated comprehensive medical tests for Rana according to the established protocols and that all his medical requirements be met during the custody period.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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