Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, is being held on suicide watch in a high-security cell at the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters after a special court granted the agency 18-day custody of him.
According to a report citing sources, Rana is under 24/7 surveillance, with both human guards and CCTV cameras monitoring him inside the heavily secured Lodhi Road facility.
"Rana has been kept in a 14x14 cell on the ground floor. He will be allowed only a soft-tip pen to write so that he can't harm himself," The Times of India reports said, quoting a source.
64-year-old Tahawwur Hussain Rana was successfully extradited from the US to India on April 10 to stand trial here on 10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
The officers on Friday began questioning him about his alleged ISI links and his relationship with David Coleman Headley alias Dawood Gilani, who is suspected of helping activate sleeper cells in places such as Delhi, Goa and Pushkar.
Political Debate
Former union minister P. Chidambaram in a statement said, "While the Modi govt is rushing to take credit for this development, the truth is far from their spin."
"This extradition is not the result of any grandstanding; it is a testament to what the Indian state can achieve when diplomacy, law enforcement, and international cooperation are pursued sincerely and without any kind of chest-thumping," Chidambaram added.
He credited this progress to the basic work done during the UPA regime and said, "It is the culmination of a decade and a half of painstaking diplomatic, legal and intelligence efforts initiated by the UPA government in close coordination with the US."
The coursework began on Nov 11, 2009, when NIA registered a case in New Delhi against David Coleman Headley, Rana, and others involved in the 26/11 conspiracy. Canada's foreign minister confirmed collaboration with Indian agencies, thanks to UPA's effective foreign policy," he added.
