A U.S. court on on Tuesday again turned down the bail plea of terror suspect Tahawwur Rana, accused of plotting the Mumbai terror attacks at the behest of the LeT, saying the Pakistani-Canadian is charged with “very serious crimes” which give him a motive to flee.
“Defendant Rana’s motion to revoke Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan’s detention order is denied,” read an order by Judge Harry Leinenweber of U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.
Rana has made several pleas to be released on bond since his arrest last year contending that he was “duped” by American-Pakistani LeT operative David Coleman Headley.
Headley, 49, and Rana, 48, were arrested by FBI in October 2009 and are accused of plotting terror attacks at the behest of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba in India and against a Danish newspaper.
“The evidence in the form of recorded conversations, while not conclusive, appears to corroborate the Government’s contention that he was a knowing ally of Headley and had been acquainted in advance of the Mumbai attacks,” the court said.
In addition, the more serious charges if proved would undoubtedly lead to a higher sentence, the court said, adding that Rana has not “rebutted the presumptions“.
Rana has been indicted of “very serious crimes which is sufficient itself to trigger probable cause of his guilt, which establishes the reputable presumption of a danger to the community”.
