NIA lines up mystery witness to nail Rana

Investigators on Friday began grilling 2008 terror attack key accused Tahawwur Rana about his co-conspirators in Pakistan and were set to confront him with a "protected witness" who allegedly received David Coleman Headley in Mumbai in 2006 as well as arranged logistics and accommodation for him, according to senior officials and investigation details seen by HT.

- Neeraj Chauhan

The interrogation by officers from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other intelligence agencies began hours after a special court in Delhi sent Rana to 18 days in NIA custody in the early hours of Friday. After the court order around 2 a.m., Rana was brought to the NIA headquarters on Lodhi Road and allowed to rest till the morning.

This is the first time Rana is being questioned by Indian investigators. In June 2010, a NIA team questioned Headley in the US. At the heart of the interrogation is the "protected witness" who is linked to Rana's childhood friend and key conspirator Headley, and is key to nailing Rana's role, said the officials quoted above.

"This protected witness was very close to Rana and could be confronted with him soon," said officials, requesting anonymity.

The identity of this individual was kept confidential even in the court documents, to protect him from harm from Pakistan's state actors and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which were involved in the 26/11 attacks.

According to the NIA probe details accessed by HT, when the planning for the attacks was going on around 2006, Headley first went to Pakistan to meet with LeT leaders and other co-conspirators — and "received instructions to take general videos of Mumbai, including of the Taj Mahal hotel".

He visited India in September 2006 and took videos as asked by Pakistan-based handlers.

"During this visit, Headley was received by an individual close to Rana, who is a protected witness now. This person received a call from Rana after which this person arranged accommodations and other logistics for Headley," said an officer, requesting anonymity.