In the investigation of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a supplementary charge sheet on Wednesday, which described the role of Pakistani -origin Canadian Citizen Tahawwur Hussain Rana in assisting in deadly attacks, killing more than 170 people.
According to the charge sheet, Rana played an important role in helping Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba to help by helping her reconnaissance missions in Mumbai.
The agency said, “Rana had played an important role in facilitating the reconnaissance campaigns by Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba.”
According to the charge sheet, Rana played an important role in laying the foundation of fatal attacks by setting up a corporate front in Mumbai.
The NIA claims that Rana established the NRI law center in Mumbai – an office that came up as a valid business, but had no real commercial activity.
Despite real operations or lack of revenue, the office remained active for more than two years and provided aid to Headley’s secret activities. The same front allegedly enabled Headley to keep a detailed monitoring at several high-profile locations in Mumbai to prepare for the attacks, in which more than 170 people were killed and the whole country was shaken.
Further investigation revealed that Rana was part of a comprehensive criminal conspiracy that started around 2005, including Pakistan-based co-head.
The declared objective of this conspiracy was to wage war against the Government of India by carrying out a large -scale terrorist incidents to destabilize the sovereignty, integrity and internal security of the country.
The NIA alleged that Rana’s actions were done with the aim of spreading terror in the Indian public and damaging national interests. As a result, several allegations have been made against him under the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
After years of legal tussle, Rana was extradited from the United States to India in early 2025. His petition was dismissed by the US Supreme Court in January, clearing the way for his extradition.
On April 10, 2025, he was taken into custody in India under a non-bailable warrant issued by the Special NIA court in Delhi. His arrest is considered a major success in the investigation which is exposing new aspects of the terrorist conspiracy.
According to the NIA, during the interrogation in custody, Rana has made several important revelations, which has found new clues in the investigation. To further confirm these statements, mutual legal aid requests have been sent to the United States to obtain confirmed evidence and intelligence information.
The investigation officials believe that the information obtained through these international channels will be important in highlighting the wider network of conspirators and gathering actionable evidence.
Rana was made several serious allegations, including several cases related to conspiracy, murder and terrorism and forgery to wage war against India. These offenses include Sections 120B, 121, 302, 468 and 471 of IPC as well as violations of Section 16 and 18 of UAPA. He was extradited after the approval of US officials and is an important milestone in Indo-US anti-terrorism cooperation.
The NIA has confirmed that investigation is on, and further allegations and supplementary materials are expected to be submitted based on international information exchange and continuous inquiry results.
