New Delhi, 20 March (H.S.): A Patiala House Court directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday to accelerate filing a supplementary chargesheet against Tahawwur Rana, the alleged conspirator in the 2008 Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks, mandating submission by May with the next hearing on April 24.

During proceedings, NIA informed the court it has collected voice samples from Rana, which could prove pivotal in the probe. The agency had filed an initial chargesheet on July 9, 2025, after extraditing the 64-year-old Canadian-Pakistani national from the US on April 10, 2024, following the US Supreme Court's rejection of his plea.

Rana, a close associate of 26/11 mastermind David Coleman Headley (aka Dawood Gilani), facilitated Headley's India reconnaissance via a Mumbai agency they established as childhood friends from the same military school. His support eased Headley's movements during the Lashkar-e-Taiba-orchestrated attacks.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar