New Delhi: The ongoing interrogation of Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, may widen to cover other terror plots planned by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), including the failed suicide attack in 2004 on Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat and is now India’s Prime Minister.

Officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) are reportedly planning to question Rana about the Gujarat module, as he is believed to have joined LeT around the same time that the 2004 assassination attempt on Modi was thwarted. Investigators suspect Rana may reveal details about individuals who were involved in the plot.

2004 assassination bid linked to Ishrat Jahan

On 15 June 2004, Gujarat Police stated that Ishrat Jahan and three others were shot dead near Ahmedabad by a team from the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) of the Ahmedabad City Police. According to the police, the four were on a mission to assassinate then Chief Minister Modi.

NIA officers believe Rana may have been informed about the plot by his close associate and fellow LeT member David Coleman Headley. Headley was actively involved with the Pakistan-based terror group around that time and had joined LeT a few years before Rana.

Headley’s allegations about Ishrat Jahan

Headley had reportedly told US investigators that Ishrat Jahan was working with LeT and was involved in a mission to assassinate Modi. While the 2004 attack was thwarted, Headley later partnered with Rana to plan the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

Beyond 26/11: A wider LeT network

NIA officials believe Rana may have knowledge of other LeT operations and sleeper cells that were active before 2014, including the one linked to Ishrat Jahan. His questioning is expected to go beyond the 26/11 attacks to gather more information about these plots.

After the Ishrat Jahan module was neutralised in Gujarat, there were allegations that the then UPA government had attempted to label the operation a “fake encounter.” This move was seen by some as politically motivated, aimed at targeting Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat’s Chief Minister.

IANS