A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Delhi on Wednesday allowed Tahawwur Rana three phone calls with his brother this month. The calls will be recorded and conducted in the presence of a senior jail officer, with the conversation restricted to Hindi or English
Tahawwur Rana is currently in judicial custody after interrogation by the NIA in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. File pic
Tahawwur Rana, the alleged mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has been granted permission to make three phone calls to his brother to discuss hiring a lawyer for his defence, reported news agency ANI.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Delhi on Wednesday allowed Rana to make the calls to his brother this month. The calls will be recorded and conducted in the presence of a senior jail officer, with the conversation restricted to Hindi or English.
Meanwhile, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander Jit Singh on Wednesday extended Rana’s judicial custody until September 8. He was presented through video conferencing after his judicial custody ended.
Rana's lawyer, Piyush Sachdev, sought more time to review the documents of the charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet, reported ANI. The matter is currently at the document scrutiny stage, following the filing of a supplementary charge sheet by the NIA.
On August 1, the court had dismissed an application from Rana requesting a regular telephone facility for his family, which was earlier denied by the jail authorities.
Previously, he had been permitted only a single call to his family.
Rana is currently in judicial custody after interrogation by the NIA in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He was extradited from the United States in April this year. The NIA had filed a supplementary charge sheet against him on July 9 in the 26/11 case.
This supplementary charge sheet includes procedural documents such as an arrest memo, a seizure memo, and other related documents, Rana’s counsel had informed ANI. The main charge sheet was filed by the NIA in December 2011.
On June 9, the court had allowed Rana to make a single phone call to his family for the time being. This call was conducted under the supervision of a senior official from the Tihar jail authorities and in strict accordance with jail regulations. Recently, the NIA had collected voice and handwriting samples from Rana, who was extradited from the United States.
The NIA had earlier informed the court that Rana was confronted with significant evidence related to the 26/11 attacks. The agency argued for continued custody, citing his evasive behaviour during questioning and lack of cooperation. Special Public Prosecutor Narender Mann represented the NIA during the proceedings.
Rana was extradited in April in connection with his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The devastating assault, masterminded by Lashkar-e-Taiba, resulted in over 170 deaths and left hundreds more injured.
(With ANI inputs)
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