Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, was formally arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday after his extradition from the United States. A Mumbai police official involved in the investigation revealed that Rana had assisted co-conspirator David Coleman Headley in securing an Indian visa used to conduct reconnaissance ahead of the deadly 2008 attacks. Rana, a former medical corps officer in the Pakistan Army who later moved to Canada and the US, used his immigration consultancy business as a front to facilitate Headley’s travel and activities in India. According to investigators, Rana's firm in Chicago provided cover for Headley's reconnaissance missions, and he played a key role in getting Headley a ten-year Indian visa extension.
Extensive communication, reconnaissance and visit before attack
Police officials said that during Headley’s time in India, he remained in frequent contact with Rana. Over 230 phone calls were exchanged between them during that period, the official added. Rana was also in communication with 'Major Iqbal', another co-conspirator, as cited in the NIA charge sheet.
Significantly, Rana himself visited India in November 2008—days before the coordinated attacks. According to a 2023 charge sheet filed by Mumbai Police, he stayed at a hotel in Powai and had discussions about crowded public places in South Mumbai with a person listed as a witness in the case. Several of these locations were later attacked by Pakistani terrorists, leading to the death of 166 people.
26/11: The targets and the trail
The November 2008 attacks, one of India’s worst terror incidents, saw ten heavily armed terrorists target multiple high-profile locations in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Leopold Cafe, and Chabad House. Headley, acting as a scout for the terror operation, had previously surveyed all these sites during his trips to India under the cover of his immigration business.
Rana has now been remanded to 18 days in NIA custody by a special court in Delhi. Investigators are expected to question him extensively on his links with Headley and other handlers in Pakistan, as the probe into the full scale of the 26/11 conspiracy continues.
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