Tahawwur Rana, cleared by a Chicago court of involvement in the Mumbai attacks, knew about the 26/11 plot as he was part of 'the inner circle' and was tipped off about the 'imminent' strikes by none other than Lashkar-e-Tayiba's Pasha during a meeting in Dubai, according to United States prosecutors.
The sentencing of American-born Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist David Headley, accused of involvement in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, has been fixed for January 17 next year while that of his accomplice Tahawwur Rana has been rescheduled for January 15 from December four.
'The fight against terrorism will continue. We have set a new normal and the new normal is that we will follow an offensive strategy. Wherever terrorists are, we have to kill those terrorists and we have to destroy their infrastructure. So it is still not over but as we speak the ceasefire is still intact'
The verdict of a United States court holding Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana not guilty of the Mumbai terror attacks would not affect the legal proceedings against terrorist Ajmal Kasab and the charge against Lashkar-e-Tayiba of masterminded the strikes, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said on Friday.
Apprehending arrest during his India visit after the Mumbai attacks, Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley wrote a will and emailed it to his friend and co-accused Tahawwur Rana, as to what should be done to his wives and children in the event of his death or arrest.
The United States has indicated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has evidence linking American terror suspect David Coleman Headley and his Pakistani-Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Rana to the deadly Mumbai terror attacks. A FBI team arrived in New Delhi on Sunday to hold discussions with their Indian counterparts, during which it may share information on Headley's links with several people in the country, including those linked to the Mumbai terror attacks.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and firmed up the responses to the terror attack.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Wednesday said that a Letters Rogatory shall be obtained from the special Mumbai court -- where the 26/11 terror attack trial is currently going on -- seeking information about Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives David Headley and Tahawwur Rana and their involvement in the terror strike.Letters Rogatory is 'a customary method of obtaining judicial assistance from abroad in the absence of a treaty or executive agreement between two countries.
Opposition leaders in India have expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of the deportation of Indian illegal immigrants from the United States during his recent visit. They criticized the manner in which the Indians were sent back, shackled and handcuffed on a military aircraft. The leaders also discussed the need for India to address the root causes of migration and the importance of national interest in diplomatic relations with the United States.
"All these issues are going to be looked into very carefully from the point of view of security angle and perhaps in the days to come, you might see more on this," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told reporters on the sidelines of a FICCI event in New Delhi. Copies of visas issued to Pakistani-Canadian Rana and a woman Samraz Rana Akhthar, who he claimed to be his wife, show that both were issued multiple entry visas under the discretion of the Consul General.
As the Chicago court prepares its verdict in the case of Pakistani-American terror accused Tawwahur Rana, Indian agencies wait with bated breath for the result.
Those who stay in other countries illegally do not have any legal right to be there, Modi said.
A total of nine terror sites in Pakistan, including five in Pojk, linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (Jem), were targeted with meticulous planning to avoid civilian casualties.
Modi lived up to his declaration that his visit was purely meant to strengthen India's relationship with the US, but there may be situations in which our silence on some issues will haunt us in the future, cautions Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'A less tense US-China relationship would make Beijing less likely to provoke India -- including on the border -- in retaliation for its close defence ties with the US.'
'It was inspired by the Hamas attack and was like their attack -- well planned and well executed.'
Here's what Headley told the court on Thursday:
The National Investigation Agency, probing the conspiracy angle in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, will be holding a video conferencing with the US's Department of Justice for providing "limited access" to alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist David Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Rana.
The United States on Friday said it would continue its hunt for dreaded terrorist Illyas Kashmiri, Lashkar-e-Tayiba handler Sajid Mir and four others involved in the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans. The six are named in the indictment in the case in a Chicago court, which is hearing charges against Tahawwur Rana and David Headley. Rana was on Thursday sentenced to 14 years in jail.
Rana, 59, a childhood friend of David Coleman Headley, was recently released from jail on compassionate ground after he told a US court that he has tested positive for the COVID-19.
Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley has told a jury in the Tahawwur Rana trial that Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani attended his father's funeral, but the latter's office rubbished the claim.
In the volatile international situation where 'nativism' is on the rise and immigrant communities are being targeted, the Leader of the Opposition's statement is like adding fuel to fire. If the Indian diaspora numbering 4 crores is threatened it will constitute a grave threat to national security, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
With investigators ready to file chargesheet in Headley-Rana case, security agencies have found that the American terror suspect had assets running into crores of rupees in Pakistan, the US and a Gulf nation.
A Delhi court on Monday issued fresh non-bailable warrants against Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, his accomplice Tahawwur Rana, Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and 26/11 attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who are accused of carrying out terror attacks in New Delhi.
With an FBI team in New Delhi, the Centre on Monday said the US has "promised" total support in probing involvement of terror suspects David Headley and Tahawwur Rana in "various crimes" in India and the agencies here are awaiting the first investigation report by the American investigators.
Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil said on Tuesday that the National Investigation Agency has not approached the state government so far to question the 26/11 terror attack accused Ajmal Kasab on his possible links with alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives David Headley and Tahawwur Rana.
A Delhi court has issued fresh non-bailable warrants against Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, his accomplice Tahawwur Rana, lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and 26/11 attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who are accused of carrying out several terror attacks in India.
The government has given its sanction to charge sheet nine people including Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley, Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and two Inter Services Intelligence officers for plotting terror attacks in India including the 26/11 strikes.
In a fresh turn in the Mumbai terror attack case, the city police will approach the trial court seeking a letter rogatory to obtain evidence from a US court about alleged involvement of David Headley and Tahawwur Rana in the 26/11 attacks.
A Delhi court on Saturday took cognisance of the National Investigation Agency chargesheet against Pakistani-American David Headley Coleman and eight others for allegedly carrying out several terror attacks in India.
Two years after his role in terror activities surfaced, the National Investigation Agency on Saturday chargesheeted Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley, Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed and two Inter-Services Intelligence officers for plotting terror attacks in India including the 26/11 strikes.
On the instructions of Inter-Services Intelligence, David Headley masqueraded as a tourist interested in angling, taking fishing boats into the waters off Mumbai to identify a suitable landing site for Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists, who months later created mayhem in India's financial capital.
When Tahawwur Rana's defence attorneys cross-examine David Headley this week, it's possible that they will severely damage him, or that he will self-destruct on the stand. Investigative journalist Steven Rotella reports for ProPublica.org on the Lashkar operative's credibility problems
Three years have passed since India witnessed one of its worst terror attacks. While the National Investigating Agency tries stack up evidence against David Headley and Tahawwur Rana, security agencies across the country find themselves being foxed by a new wave of terror: unroganised hell.
A few days back the home ministry announced that it had completed its probe against 26/11 terror accused David Headley. However, there continues to be a slight delay where the filing of the chargesheet is concerned.
National Investigating Agency withdraws plea from a Delhi court for non-bailable warrants against David Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana on charge of plotting terror attacks in India.
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will travel to Islamabad later this month to hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart during which India will raise the issue of nexus between Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and the perpetrators of 26/11 attacks, as brought out by the trial of Pakistani-Canadian terrorist Tahawwur Rana in the United States.
After two failed attempts to strike Mumbai in September and October 2008, Pakistani handlers of the 26/11 accused David Headley began planning the attack on India's financial capital "more closely than ever" in early November that year.
Pakistan's spy agency Inter Services Intelligence helped terror group Lashkar-e-Tayiba to execute the Mumbai terror attacks, David Coleman Headley, a key 26/11 accused who pleaded guilty to laying the groundwork for the 2008 strikes, told a court in Chicago on Monday.
The government on Thursday said documents related to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Coleman Headley's visa were yet to be traced while those of his associate Tahawwur Rana had been found, contradicting claims by Indian Consulate in Chicago that no papers had gone missing.