SANJEEV SINGH'S NIA CHARGE SHEET PUT RANA ON THE PATH TO EXTRADITION

The charge sheet was a work of hours of efforts and meticulous investigation. many of which were carried out for the first time in India.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

The 21 January U.S. Supreme Court order to extradite Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana came despite his lawyers raising every viable defence, all of which failed to sway the judges. This was largely due to the airtight chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in December 2011, which laid the foundation for a strong legal case by both Indian and U.S. prosecutors to secure Rana's extradition-likely to happen 14 years later.

The said charge sheet, which was a work of hours of efforts and meticulous investigation, many of which were carried out for the first time in India, was done by the first Inspector General (IG) of the agency, Sanjeev Singh, a 1987 batch Bihar cadre Indian Police Service officer, who passed away in 2020 at a relatively young age of 60 years.

Official sources familiar with the case, including those who joined the NIA after Singh's tenure ended in August 2016, told The Sunday Guardian that it was due to his efforts that Rana will now face justice for his crimes.

Indian investigators were able to convince their US counterparts of the role of Rana in this case and were able to answer every single doubt and question that were raised by them before the case moved to the court.

Every charge in the charge sheet filed by Singh was backed by undeniable proof and evidence.

It was Singh, who after completing his investigation in the case, for the first time in India's history had named two serving Pakistani Army officers in its charge sheet. Singh had named two serving army officers of Pakistan, Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali for their role in the heinous crime.