A US court on Tuesday granted federal prosecutors 58 more days to indict Lashkar-e-Taiba terror suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, who is being held in a Chicago jail.
Attorney Patrick J Fitzgerald moved a petition last week asking the US court to extend the deadline for filing formal charges against Rana. Fitzgerald will now have until January 14 to unveil terror charges against Rana. During his arrest, Rana was charged with one count of conspiracy linked to providing material support for foreign terrorism. Since then, fresh evidence has been submitted in court. Rana is scheduled to be produced there on Thursday when his bail plea comes up for hearing. Assistant US attorney Daniel Collins said the nature of the charges alone should require Rana to remain behind bars pending a trial.
Indian authorities say Headley, 49, and Rana may have had a role in Mumbai 26/11 attack. The FBI and CIA plan high-level visits to India before the end of the week.
There has been growing co-operation between Indian and US intelligence agencies. Sources say, India’s National Investigation Agency is likely to ask the FBI for samples of intercepted conversations between Headley and his Pakistan-based handlers. They want to match Headley’s voice samples with intercepted cellphone calls between Ajmal Kasab and the nine gunmen during 26/11 and their controllers in Pakistan to establish a direct link between the two men in Chicago and 26/11.
