Tahawwur Hussain Rana may have conducted a recce of strategic installations like the southern naval command, Cochin Shipyard and the LNG Terminal during his visit to Kochi on Nov 16 and 17, 2008.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the LeT operative nabbed by the FBI in Chicago, may have conducted a recce of strategic installations like the southern naval command, Cochin Shipyard and the LNG Terminal during his visit to Kochi on November 16 and 17, 2008.
National security agencies and the police have found that Rana — along with wife Samraz — hired a boat on November 16 to cruise the lake that divides the city and the naval base. He is said to have shot photographs of the three installations. National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer Habeeb Rahman is tracking Rana’s contacts in Kerala.
Rana, who stayed at the Taj Residency, even published a recruitment ad in a newspaper, which gave his phone numbers. The NIA tracked the calls and thinks most came from job-seekers hoping to go abroad. Investigating officers now think Rana was using a satellite phone too. Rana did not use the hotel’s landline or boat service.
The agencies have zeroed in on two Rana contacts, including an NRI. Investigation now turns to the terror recruitment racket in the state though it is not clear if Rana’s company had in fact picked any one.
Rana’s recruitment business is thought to be a cover-up for his shady operations. NIA is also looking for any link between Rana and the persons involved in terror-related incidents in Kerala.
In January, Kerala police charge-sheeted over 20 youths in a case pertaining to recruitment of terrorists from the state. The case was the fallout of the encounter killing of four youths from Kerala in Kupwara district of Jammu & Kashmir last year. Rana is believed to have contacted a youth in Kochi, who is now on the police radar.
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