Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key conspirator for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has admitted that he was a trusted spy for ISI and the Pakistan army. According to various reports, Rana made these claims to the Mumbai Crime Branch. He is also said to have admitted that he was in Mumbai during the 2008 attacks.
Rana, who is currently in Delhi’s Tihar Jail under the National Investigation Agency (NIA), revealed that he and David Coleman Headley, who was his close associate, underwent multiple training sessions with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). LeT is a Pakistan-based terror group. Rana reportedly told the Mumbai Crime Branch that the LeT mainly functioned as a spy network for Pakistan, adding that the terror outfit worked together with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Rana confessed that opening his firm’s Mumbai immigration centre and presenting the related financial transactions as business expenses was his idea. He has also acknowledged that he was in Mumbai during the 26/11 attack, not accidentally but as a planned part of the terror operation.
Surveillance At Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
Rana also told the investigators that it was he who had conducted surveillance of the potential targets, which did include Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), which was one of the key sites attacked by the Pakistani terrorists. Reports also say that Rana confirmed the 26/11 attacks as ISI plot.
Sudanese-Born Rana
Media reports suggest that Sudanese-born Rana also admitted he had previously been dispatched to Saudi Arabia by the Pakistani Army during the Khaleej War, which demonstrated his long history with Pakistan’s military establishment. In light of these revelations, the India Today report noted that the Mumbai Police are now gearing up for Rana’s formal arrest so that they can take him into custody.
Who Is Rana
Rana is a Pakistani-born Canadian national, who came to India after the Supreme Court of the United States dismissed his petition on April 4 of this year, allowing him to be extradited to India. Rana arrived in India in May and was assigned to the NIA’s judicial custody. He has since been under investigation for a number of very serious offences, including criminal conspiracy, murder, acts of terrorism, and forgery. Just last month, a Delhi court extended Rana’s judicial custody to July 9.
Ten armed terrorists from Pakistan executed the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, killing 166 people and injuring hundreds more over 60 hours of intentional carnage directed at high-profile targets like the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and the Nariman House Jewish Centre.
Since the attack, India has asserted that the Pakistan-based terrorist groups and their sponsors rightly bear responsibility for the Mumbai attack. Rana’s revelations add more detail to India’s historic assertions that there was planning, involvement, and support for the 26/11 attacks by state elements of Pakistan.
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