New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday collected the voice and handwriting samples of Tahawwur Rana, the alleged mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, before a Delhi court.

Rana was brought under tight security before Judicial Magistrate First Class Vaibhav Kumar, where the NIA recorded his handwriting specimens during an in-chamber proceeding.

Specimens recorded as per court order

Sources revealed that Rana wrote various alphabets and numerical characters as part of the procedure.

Legal aid counsel Piyush Sachdev, who represented Rana, stated that he "fully complied with a recent court order directing him to submit samples of his voice and handwriting."

The court had recently granted permission to the NIA to collect these samples.

Rana’s custody extended

Special NIA Judge Chander Jit Singh, who had on 28 April extended Rana’s custody for 12 days, passed the order allowing the collection of samples on 30 April following an application by the NIA.

Rana, a close associate of David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani — the main conspirator of the 26/11 attacks — was brought to India after the US Supreme Court dismissed his review petition against extradition on 4 April.

Background: The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks

On 26 November 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists carried out coordinated attacks on a railway station, two luxury hotels, and a Jewish centre after infiltrating India's financial capital via the Arabian Sea.

The nearly 60-hour siege resulted in the deaths of 166 people.

PTI inputs