Tahawwur Rana makes shocking revelations

MUMBAI: Tahawwur Hussain Rana, one of the masterminds behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has made shocking revelations during questioning by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch while in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody. Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian citizen, was extradited to India from the United States in April 2025 following a long legal battle.

Under interrogation, Rana stated that he was a dependable agent of the Pakistani army and was deployed in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War. He also revealed that his close friend David Coleman Headley had participated in some terror training camps conducted by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which, in his perception, operated mainly as a network of spies.

Rana confessed to scouting out a number of pivotal places in Mumbai prior to the 2008 attacks, which claimed 166 lives. He admitted to assisting Headley in establishing an operational fake office in Mumbai using his immigration firm as a cover to devise and carry out the attacks.

Sources in the NIA unveiled that Rana has established the strong connection between Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and the terror outfit LeT. He is said to have informed investigators that the Mumbai attacks were planned since 2005 in coordination with handlers in Pakistan.

The NIA has taken 18-day custody of Rana for intense questioning. The investigators are examining email correspondence, travel history, and other material that documents his exchange with Headley and other operatives.

Rana is accused of grave offences such as criminal conspiracy, murder, terrorism, and forgery. A special NIA court said his custodial interrogation may reveal the larger conspiracy behind the Mumbai attacks, including plans to strike other large cities like Delhi.

The disclosures amount to a huge step forward for India in trying to get all the perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks brought to justice.