Mumbai police question Tahawwur Rana for 8 hours; say he gave evasive answers, didn't cooperate

Mumbai | A Mumbai crime branch team questioned Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, for over eight hours in New Delhi where he is in National Investigation Agency's custody, officials said on Saturday.

The crime branch team comprising four officers questioned Rana on Wednesday for his alleged role in the conspiracy of the terror attacks, an official said.

During the questioning, Rana gave evasive answers and did not cooperate, the official said without giving any further information.

Rana, a 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman, was extradited from the USA for his alleged role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks earlier this month. He is currently in the NIA's custody in the national capital.

Rana's role in the Mumbai terror attacks conspiracy came to light during the interrogation of his childhood friend and co-accused David Headley.

The Mumbai terror attacks on November 26, 2008 involved 10 Pakistani terrorists who carried out coordinated strikes at multiple locations -- including a railway station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre -- after arriving in Mumbai via the Arabian Sea. The assault lasted nearly 60 hours and claimed 166 lives.

Rana is accused of conspiring with Headley alias Daood Gilani, and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI) along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the the three-day terror siege of India's financial capital.