By soumyaranjanb447 
NEW DELHI: Co-accused David Headley’s reconnaissance trips to India between 2006 and 2009 and the larger Lashkar-e-Taiba conspiracy behind the 26/11 attacks are being questioned by NIA in connection with 26/11 conspiracy accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was recently extradited from the US. If Rana’s interrogation reveals anything new, NIA may decide to question Headley again.
Headley was given a plea deal that prevented him from being extradited to India, Denmark, or Pakistan, and he is currently serving a 35-year sentence in the United States. Only once in 2010 did NIA question Headley in the United States.
An NIA team is questioning Rana to obtain unpublished information about the 26/11 conspiracy, according to an officer with knowledge of the case developments. This information includes the involvement of Pakistan-based LeT masterminds Hafiz Saeed, Zakir ur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdur Rehman, Ilyas Kashmiri, and ISI officers Major Samir Ali and Major Iqbal, as well as a contact in Dubai, that isn’t included in the US Department of Justice’s case files. An officer told TOI that NIA will decide “as and when needed” whether to pursue new access to Headley in order to confront him about any further information that Rana may have disclosed. Seeing how the United States responds to such a request will be interesting.
According to sources, Rana is undergoing a medical examination every 48 hours while in NIA custody. Rana had previously used several health issues as justifications in pleas before US courts to delay his extradition. According to a source, Rana has been assisting with the investigation, although he occasionally brings up his health issues.
G K Pillai, the former home secretary who was in charge when NIA questioned Headley in the US, told TOI that Headley was Rana’s main connection to the 26/11 plot and that he would keep the latter informed about the terror plans and reconnaissance techniques of the Pakistani handlers. In 2006, Headley first told Rana that LeT had assigned him the responsibility of monitoring 26/11 targets. Headley consulted his LeT handlers before enlisting Rana, a Pakistan Army deserter, in the terror plot. Rana facilitated Headley’s travel documents and permitted his immigration company to serve as a “cover” for Headley’s reconnaissance missions to Denmark and India.
Also Read: Tahawwur Rana demands three items while in NIA custody: a pen, the Quran, and …