26/11: Tahawwur Rana seeks NIA court nod for regular phone chats with kin

New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) Pakistani-Canadian national and Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana on Tuesday filed a petition in a Special NIA court seeking permission to speak with his family members over phone from jail at regular intervals, a lawyer said on Tuesday.

The Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Judge at Patiala House Court, before whom Rana raised the demand, sought a response from the jail authorities and the anti-terror agency on whether he should be allowed regular telephonic contact with family members.

As the NIA sought more time to present its stand on the issue, the court posted the hearing for July 23.

The jail administration filed its response on Rana’s plea.

Earlier, Rana also sought a bed in his cell in Tihar prison, which was approved by the court. The judge also issued instructions to the jail authorities to provide him with a bed.

During the proceedings, the NIA informed the court that they had handed over all documents related to Rana’s health to the jail administration.

Rana’s plea seeking permission to speak to his family over the phone is not new. The court had earlier accepted his similar request and allowed him to speak to his family once.

On July 9, the NIA court sent the terror suspect to judicial custody till August 13.

The NIA filed a supplementary charge sheet against Rana, a former officer of the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps, following an initial charge sheet filed against him in 2012.

The latest charge sheet also included Rana’s arrest memo, seizure memos, and several other related documents.

Earlier on June 6, the Special NIA Court called for a status report from Tihar jail authorities after Rana’s counsel flagged his deteriorating health condition.

The NIA had also collected voice and handwriting samples of Rana as a precursor to match them with recordings of his telephonic discussions with 26/11 co-accused David Coleman Headley.

Rana, who was extradited from the US in April to stand trial in the Mumbai attack case, is suspected to have passed on to Headley handwritten notes sharing instructions, coordinates, and maps which were used to scout 26/11 targets. The NIA suspects that Rana was present in Mumbai during the terror attack.

NIA sources had earlier said that during interrogation, Rana had claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused Headley was solely responsible for the reconnaissance and planning aspects of 26/11.

Jailed in the US, Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to conducting recce missions across India, including Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

--IANS

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