Mumbai: The judicial remand of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana was extended till September 8 by a special NIA court on Wednesday. Rana’s earlier judicial custody is set to expire today, August 13. He was produced before the court by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) via video conferencing, reported The Times Of India.
Rana's counsel, Piyush Sachdev, sought more time to scrutinise the documents of the chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet, reported ANI.
The NIA argued for further custody, citing his evasive behaviour during questioning and lack of cooperation. Special Public Prosecutor Narender Mann represented the federal agency in the proceedings.
Earlier this month, the court disposed of an application of Rana seeking a regular telephone facility for his family because of the denial of the facility by the jail authorities. Earlier, he was permitted to make a single call to his family.
Rana has been granted permission by the court for three phone calls with his brother to discuss engaging a lawyer for his defence. The calls will be recorded and take place in the presence of a senior jail officer. Notably, conversations will be allowed in Hindi or English.
On July 9, the NIA filed a supplementary charge sheet against Rana in the 26/11 Mumbai terror case. The supplementary charge sheet contains procedural documents, including an arrest memo, a seizure memo, and other documents, Rana's counsel had told ANI. Thge main chargesheet was filed by the federal probe agency in 2011.
On June 9, the Court had permitted Tahawwur Rana to make a single phone call to his family for the time being.
Rana was extradited to India in April this year from the United States in connection with his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Rana, is a Pakistani-Canadian national. He is a close associate of main 26/11 conspirator David Coleman Headley.
The attack was orchestrated by Pakistan-based terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) on November 26, 2008. It claimed over 170 lives and left hundreds injured.
