NIA plea on Rana, Headley withdrawn
Withdrawing its former application for issuance of non-bailable warrants against accused Tahawwur Rana and David Headley, the mastermind in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) on
Thursday filed a fresh plea in a Delhi court for issuance of NBW against Pakistan-based JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and five other terror suspects for allegedly plotting attacks in India,
The NIA withdrew the application of issuance of NBW against Headley and Rana, after saying that the US was providing access to them.
Citing reasons for the withdrawal of application against Headley and Rana, the NIA said, “We want to withdraw the plea against Headley and Rana as they have been duly interrogated by us. The prosecutor of the NIA also made it clear that both the US-based terror suspects are in the custody of the US with whom India has an extradition treaty.
The NIA, however, filed a fresh application seeking issuance of NBWs against Saeed, LeT operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and four others, including two Pakistani Army officers, for allegedly plotting terror attacks in India.
To maintain secrecy of the case, the prosecutor said, “We cannot discuss such issues in an open court. It is a sensitive case relating to national security. We are willing to provide a copy of the case diary to the court for perusal.”
Citing several Supreme Court judgments to buttress their claim for issuance of NBWs, the NIA told the court of district and sessions judge S.P. Garg that NBWs could be issued against those accused who were living in a country with whom India has no extradition treaty.
“This case is not being filed for an academic purpose. The NIA is serious and wants RCN issued against them so that they could be arrested if they come out of Pakistan,” he said.
Besides Headley and Rana, now in the custody of FBI in the US, the NIA has made Lakhvi, Saeed, Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali of Pakistani army, Sajid Mir and Abdul Rehman accused in an FIR lodged on November 11 last year.
Post new comment