'Protected witness' key to unlocking Tahawwur Rana’s role in 26/11 plot: Report

Rana, who arrived in New Delhi Thursday evening after being extradited from the US, was taken to the NIA headquarters in the early hours of Friday.

A “protected witness” who allegedly received David Coleman Headley in Mumbai and arranged logistics for his reconnaissance mission in 2006 is reportedly set to play a key role in the interrogation of Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Indian investigators began questioning Rana shortly after a Delhi court granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) 18 days of custodial interrogation.

According to officials cited in a Hindustan Times report, the confidential witness is believed to have links with both Headley and Rana. This witness is expected to help establish Rana’s role in facilitating Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) planning for the deadly attacks that left 166 people dead and over 230 injured.

As per the report, the identity of the witness has been kept confidential even in court documents, given the threat posed by Pakistan’s state actors and terror groups like LeT. Investigators cited in the report have noted that confronting Rana with the witness could be key to unearthing how he enabled Headley’s surveillance activities in Mumbai ahead of the coordinated assault.

Rana, who arrived in New Delhi Thursday evening after being extradited from the US, was taken to the NIA headquarters in the early hours of Friday. After being allowed to rest, the interrogation began later in the morning.

This marks the first time that Rana is being interrogated by Indian authorities. In 2010, an NIA team had questioned Headley in the US, but Rana had remained out of reach until his extradition was secured after years of legal proceedings.

According to details from the NIA investigation, Headley traveled to Pakistan in 2006, where he met with LeT operatives and was instructed to film prominent Mumbai locations, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, states the Hindustan Times report.

Apart from the witness’s testimony, the NIA is also banking on phone conversations between Rana and Headley recorded by the FBI in 2009, which are considered vital evidence. Investigators are also set to question former staffers from Rana’s Mumbai-based Immigration Law Centre.

With Rana now in custody, authorities are hopeful of piecing together more details of the international conspiracy behind one of the deadliest terror attacks in Indian history.