26/11 terror strike: Court reserves order on NIA plea for 12 days more custody of Tahawwur Rana

Tahawwur Rana

A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on a plea of the National Investigation Agency seeking custody of 26/11 Mumbai attacks accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana for 12 more days.

Rana was produced before special NIA judge Chander Jit Singh on expiry of his 18-day NIA custody amid tight security and with his face covered.

The judge is likely to pronounce order shortly.

Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan and special public prosecutor Narender Mann are likely to represented the National Investigation Agency in an in chamber proceeding.

Advocate Piyush Sachdeva from Delhi Legal Services Authority is representing Rana.

The court remanded Rana to NIA custody for 18 days.

In its order, the judge directed the NIA to conduct medical examination of Rana every 24 hours, and allow him to meet his lawyer every alternate day.

The judge allowed Rana to use only a "soft-tip pen" and meet his lawyer in the presence of the NIA officials, who would be out of an audible distance.

During the arguments, the NIA said Rana's custody was required to piece together the full scope of the conspiracy, and submitted he was required to be taken to various locations for retracing the events that took place 17 years ago.

Rana, a close associate of 26/11 main conspirator David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen, was brought to India after the US Supreme Court on April 4 dismissed his review plea against his extradition to India.

On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists went on a rampage, carrying out a coordinated attack on a railway station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, after they sneaked into India's financial capital using the sea route in the Arabian Sea.

As many as 166 people were killed in the nearly 60-hour assault.