Tahawwur Hussain Rana / Inside the court, NIA took voice and handwriting samples of Tahawwur Rana

The NIA took voice and handwriting samples from Mumbai attack mastermind Tahawwur Rana. On the court's order, Rana was brought before the magistrate. His custody was extended by 12 days. The Supreme Court had approved the extradition of US citizen Rana. 166 people were killed in the 26/11 attack.

Tahawwur Hussain Rana: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken an important step by intensifying its investigation from Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the notorious mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack. His voice and handwriting samples were taken in a Delhi court on Saturday. This action was completed amid tight security before Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Vaibhav Kumar.

This action taken by the NIA has been taken under the court order in which Tahawwur Rana was directed to give samples of his voice and handwriting. During the closed-door hearing in the court, Rana was asked to write various letters and numbers. His lawyer Piyush Sachdev made it clear in the court that his client has fully complied with the order.

Judicial custody extended, scope of investigation expanded

Special NIA Judge Chandrajit Singh has extended Rana's custody by 12 more days on the request of the NIA. This decision was taken on April 28, which has given the agency an opportunity to interrogate Rana more intensively. The NIA is now moving towards establishing how deeply Rana was actually involved in the conspiracy of 26/11 attacks through forensic examination of his handwriting and voice samples.

Extradition from US: End of legal battle

Tahawwur Rana is a US citizen, and the process of his extradition to India was completed after a long legal battle. The US Supreme Court on April 4 rejected his final review petition, allowing his extradition to India. Earlier, he was arrested in Chicago and India had formally sought his extradition over his suspected role in the 26/11 case.

26/11: A horrific night in history

The Mumbai terror attack on 26 November 2008 was one of the deadliest attacks in the history of India. 10 Pakistani terrorists targeted several locations – CST railway station, Taj and Oberoi hotels, Leopold Cafe and Nariman House – in a coordinated manner. The attack, which lasted for about 60 hours, claimed 166 lives and injured hundreds. The attack was planned by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and David Coleman Headley, who was Rana's associate, carried out recce before the attack.

What next?

The questioning of Rana and compilation of evidence by the NIA could be a turning point in exposing the entire mechanism of the 26/11 attack and ensuring justice. If Rana's handwriting and voice samples match the documents or call recordings related to the terrorists, India could get a major breakthrough in this landmark case.

The entire world is watching this episode, and now it is hoped that the process of justice will reach its conclusion.