Tahawwur Rana trial: Govt appoints SG Tushar Mehta-led team of special public prosecutors

NEW DELHI: Solicitor general Tushar Mehta will lead a team of senior lawyers who will be special public prosecutors for the trial against Pakistani-Canadian national Tahawwur Rana, a "key conspirator" of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, the government announced on Thursday.

In a notification, the Ministry of home affairs (MHA) said the appointments are under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, 2008, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, news agency PTI reported.

"The central government hereby appoints a team of special public prosecutors headed by Tushar Mehta, solicitor general of India, with S V Raju, additional solicitor general along with Dayan Krishnan, senior Advocate, and Narender Mann, advocate, for conducting trial and other matters related to the case RC-04/2009/NIA/DLI on behalf of the NIA before the NIA special courts at Delhi, high court of Delhi, and Supreme Court of India for three years or till the completion of trial of the said case, whichever is earlier," the notification read.

The RC-04/2009/NIA/DLI pertains to the case registered with the NIA in Delhi involving the trial of Tahawwur Rana and co-conspirator David Headley in connection with the November 26, 2008 terrorist attacks in the country's financial capital.

The NIA secured Rana's extradition from the United States following years of sustained efforts and arrested him on April 10 upon his arrival in the national capital.

He is accused of involvement in the "larger conspiracy" behind the terrorist strikes orchestrated by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, in which 166 people were killed and over 238 injured.

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