An inquiry has revealed that the Indian Consulate in Chicago was guilty of a major security lapse while issuing visas to Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani- Canadian arrested by the FBI for allegedly plotting terror strikes in India, and his wife.
The 48-year-old Pakistan-born businessman based in Chicago was issued a multi-entry visa for a period of one-year and his spouse Samraz Rana Akhtar was given a five-year multiple-entry visa by the Consulate last year which enabled them to visit Mumbai and several other places in India days before the 26/11 terror strikes in the financial capital of the country. The visas were issued at the discretion of Indian Consulate General.
An internal inquiry has shown that the residential address provided in the visa applications by Rana couple does not exist. Moreover, an immigration services company where Rana claimed to have been employed told the Indian authorities that he was never employed by them nor did they have a branch in Mumbai as stated by him, official sources said today.
This flies in the face of the claim made by the Consulate last week that it had done "due scrutiny" before issuing visas to Rana and his wife.
