Kochi: Former Kerala Police Chief Loknath Behera, who was part of the NIA team that investigated the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, said on Thursday that the extradition of accused Tahawwur Rana to India will significantly strengthen efforts to uncover the broader conspiracy behind the attacks.Behera, who served as IG with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and oversaw the investigation at the time, said the development would allow probe agencies to explore whether more individuals were involved in the 2008 attacks.”I am personally very happy that Rana has finally been extradited, even after 14 years of being chargesheeted by the NIA. He was chargesheeted in absentia in 2011 in Delhi,” he told PTI.Behera added that Indian agencies never had the opportunity to interrogate the Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman, making his extradition all the more significant. “The Indian investigators and other agencies could now get more details of the larger conspiracy, which goes even beyond the Mumbai attacks,” he said. Behera said that investigators had received evidence that Rana had visited Kochi and conducted interviews.”We don’t know what his intentions were, and now we can find that out,” he said. Rana, who was lodged at a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles, was brought to Delhi on Thursday by a multi-agency Indian team to face trial in the 26/11 attacks case.Behera, who currently serves as Managing Director of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, told the media earlier that Rana was very close to David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American terrorist, one of the main conspirators of the Mumbai attacks.Apart from facilitating Headley’s work in Mumbai and various parts of the country, Rana might also have played a role that is yet to be uncovered, Behera added. “Rana’s presence in India is crucial to the investigation, and I am confident that the NIA, Mumbai Police, and other agencies will work together effectively to extract maximum information and turn it into concrete evidence for filing supplementary charge sheets in the respective courts of law,” he said.According to Behera, this development will aid in prosecuting Rana successfully and securing the maximum possible punishment. The Mumbai terror attacks on November 26, 2008, involved 10 Pakistani terrorists who carried out coordinated strikes at multiple locations including a railway station, two luxury hotels, and a Jewish centre after arriving in Mumbai via the Arabian Sea. The assault lasted nearly 60 hours and claimed 166 lives.
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