Rana frequented Kochi before Mumbai attacks: Former Kerala Police chief

Former Kerala Police chief Loknath Behera, who was also the head of the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) special cell investigating the financial sources of terrorism, said has on Thursday that Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, visited Kochi before the Mumbai terror attacks.

Speaking to media persons here, Behera said Rana visited Kochi  several  times and that there is evidence in the Immigration Department to that effect.

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He said Rana  visited  Kochi on November 16, 2008. He stayed at the Taj Hotel on Marine Drive. After the terror attack in Mumbai, the Taj Group handed over the details of the foreigners who stayed in their hotel chains including Rana, to investigating officers, he said.

He said Rana’s  interrogation by national agencies would shed fresh light on his visit to Kochi in mid-November 2008. The interrogation is expected to reveal the purpose of the visit and whom he met, he added.

Behera was the head of the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA’s) special cell investigating the financial sources of terrorism. He was also part of the team interrogating David Headley, a US national of Pakistani origin who conducted reconnaissance of the 26/11 attack sites.

Following  Rana’s arrest in 2009, the Kerala Police gathered intelligence indicating that he had spent nearly 24 hours in the city days before the attacks. NIA investigations later revealed that Rana had stayed  in Kochi under the pretext of conducting overseas recruitment. He had even published a newspaper advertisement inviting job seekers for opportunities in the US and Canada. He returned to Mumbai the next day.

It is also suspected that David Coleman Headley had visited Kochi prior to the  Mumbai terror attacks.

Tahawwur Hussain Rana was brought back to India from the US on Thursday.