NIA officers leading anti-terror probe against Tahawwur Rana
What's the story
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started probing the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks key accused Tahawwur Rana's case.
The agency has been given an 18-day custody of Rana, who was extradited from the US on Thursday.
The interrogation is being led by two senior officers, Jaya Roy and Ashish Batra, who were instrumental in his extradition 16 years after the Mumbai attacks.
Officer profiles
Meet the leading officers of NIA
Jaya Roy is a 2011-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Jharkhand cadre. She is presently the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of NIA.
Roy joined the Jharkhand Police in 2011 after clearing the UPSC Civil Services exam after her MBBS degree. She has been on Central deputation since 2019 and was appointed as Superintendent of Police (SP) at NIA.
Her biggest achievement has been leading a team in cracking down on cybercriminals in the Jamtara district.
Batra's background
Ashish Batra's career and contribution
Ashish Batra is a 1997-batch IPS officer of the Jharkhand cadre. He is presently serving as Inspector General (IG) in NIA.
He was deputed to the agency in 2019 for a five-year term, which has been extended for two years by the Union Home Ministry.
In 2018, he led the anti-insurgency unit Jharkhand Jaguar. He has previously held several operational and administrative roles in the Jharkhand Police Department.
Investigation details
Rana's extradition and the NIA's investigation
The 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman was extradited to India from the US on Thursday and was put in the NIA's custody for 18 days.
The agency wants to explore "deeper layers of the conspiracy," after exposing suspicions that Rana might have plotted similar massive attacks on other Indian cities.
The NIA also told a Delhi court that he needs to be interrogated regarding his ties with other terrorists involved in the Mumbai attack case.
Charges
Rana's alleged involvement in 2008 Mumbai attacks
Rana, an aide of key conspirator David Coleman Headley, is charged with conspiring with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI) operatives and other Pakistan-based co-conspirators to carry out the 2008 attacks in 10 locations in Mumbai.
He is charged with conspiracy, murder, commission of a terrorist act, forgery, and more.
The NIA investigation will seek to bring out further evidence related to these charges.