Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been brought back to India on Wednesday evening as part of a long-awaited extradition process from the United States. Special holding facilities in high-security prisons in Delhi and Mumbai have been discreetly prepared for his arrival, officials confirmed.
Earlier in the day, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took his custody from the United States. For this, it had deployed a team led by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG)-level officer to bring him back. The operation is being closely monitored by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Special Arrangements for High-Profile Suspects
According to US judicial guidelines for the treatment of extradited individuals, Indian authorities have made arrangements for safe detention facilities in two prisons. Rana will be kept in NIA custody for at least the first few weeks for intensive interrogation and inquiry.
Who is Tahawwur Rana?
A Pakistani Canadian national, Rana is a known operative of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He is accused of aiding David Coleman Headley—also known as Dawood Gilani, a Pakistani American terrorist—in planning the 26/11 Mumbai attacks that claimed 166 lives.
Rana helped Headley obtain travel documents and set up a cover operation in India. In November 2008, he himself stayed in Hotel Renaissance, Powai, between the 11th and 21st—days before the attacks were carried out.
According to investigators, Rana later expressed satisfaction over the massacre and even suggested that the attackers deserved Pakistan’s highest military honors posthumously.
Rana’s Role in the terror Plot
Testimony introduced in US courts and provided by Indian officials shows that Rana was instrumental in facilitating Headley’s scouting missions. Headley testified that Rana permitted him to establish a Mumbai office for First World Immigration Services—Rana’s own company—as a cover to scout out possible sites for an attack.
Between 2005 and 2009, the two were actively involved in providing material support to LeT, including plans to attack a Danish newspaper. It was during this time that the FBI arrested both men in 2009.
Rana also communicated with ISI officer Major Iqbal, considered one of the main architects of the 26/11 plot. In India, Tahawwur Rana will also face charges of advising Headley on how to forge documents and secure an Indian visa to assist in the mission. Mumbai Police later found email evidence between the two referencing Major Iqbal and outlining their surveillance plans.
Speaking with India Today, the NIA highlighted that Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley was in touch with 2008 Mumbai terror attacks plotter Tahawwur Hussain Rana. Headley called him 231 times during his eight visits to India ahead of the 26/11 attacks.
Long-Awaited Extradition
India formally requested Rana’s extradition in December 2019, and a provisional arrest request was filed on June 10, 2020. The breakthrough came in February, when former US President Donald Trump confirmed Rana’s extradition: “Rana is going back to India to face justice,” he said.
So far, Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist from the 26/11 Mumbai attack, is the only person tried and convicted in India. Rana’s arrival marks a significant step forward in holding all perpetrators accountable for the dastardly terror attack.
