Tahawwur Rana was 'trusted agent' of Pakistan Army, conducted recce ahead of Mumbai attacks

The 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana made a damning claim against Pakistan Army, saying he was the trusted agent of the force and that he was in Mumbai during the 2008 terror attack.

 

According to media reports, Mumbai Police Crime Branch recorded the statement of Rana, who remains in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody in Tihar Jail.

 

His remarks come even as Pakistan had earlier said it has nothing to do with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused and asserted that he is a Canadian national and has not renewed his Pakistani documents for over two decades.

 

Rana served as a doctor in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps, where he was commissioned as a Captain after completing his MBBS from the Army Medical College in Rawalpindi.

 

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Rana, who has been charged with conspiracy, murder, and terrorism, confirmed that he conducted reconnaissance of several locations in Mumbai, including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, ahead of the terror attacks and reportedly said he was present in the area when the terrorists attacked the Taj Hotel.

Rana has also claimed that Pakistani Army sent him to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War.

The Canadian national, a close associate of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks main conspirator, David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen, was brought to India after the US Supreme Court on April 4 dismissed his review plea against his extradition.

 

Rana is accused of conspiring with Headley and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the terror attacks in Mumbai.

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