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‘Mastermind’: What NIA said on extradited 26/11 attacks accused Tahawwur Rana
The agency said that the development came after ‘years of sustained and concerted efforts’ to bring the ‘key conspirator behind the 2008 mayhem to justice’.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) confirmed the extradition of key 26/11 Mumbai attacks accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana from the United States on Thursday. The agency formally arrested Rana as soon as he stepped out of the plane in Delhi.
Tahawwur Rana, a key associate of another Mumbai attacks mastermind, David Coleman Headley, was lodged in a US jail after being arrested in October 2009 in a separate case. He had helped Headley secure a visa and SIM cards when the LeT man visited India during the planning phase of the attacks in 2006.
The Indian authorities made a sustained effort to get Rana extradited since his role in one of the deadliest attacks on the country's soil came to light. 166 people lost their lives when 10 terrorists associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba held India’s financial capital under siege from November 26 to 29, 2008.
What did NIA say on Tahawwur Rana's extradition?
The NIA on Thursday confirmed that it successfully secured the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the ‘mastermind of the deadly 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks’.
The agency said that the development came after ‘years of sustained and concerted efforts’ to bring the ‘key conspirator behind the 2008 mayhem to justice’.
The NIA informed in a press release that Rana was being held in judicial custody in the US ‘pursuant to proceedings initiated under the India-US Extradition Treaty for his extradition.’
“The extradition finally came through after Rana exhausted all legal avenues to stay the move,” the press release stated.
“The District Court for the Central District of California had ordered his extradition on 16th May 2023. Rana then filed multiple litigations in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, all of which were rejected. He subsequently filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, two habeas petitions, and an emergency application before the US Supreme Court, which were also denied. The extradition proceedings were initiated between the two countries after India eventually secured a surrender warrant for the wanted terrorist from the US government,” the statement further said.
Also read: How childhood friend David Headley's testimony exposed Tahawwur Rana's role in 26/11 Mumbai attacks
The federal probe agency said that the process was completed with the active assistance of US department of justice and the US sky marshal. The NIA also worked closely with other Indian intelligence agencies, like the national security guard (NSG), through the entire extradition process. Ministry of external affairs and home ministry also coordinated with the other relevant authorities in the United States to take the matter to its successful conclusion.
“Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley @ Daood Gilani, and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI) along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the devastating terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008,” the NIA statement added.
Both LeT and HUJI have been declared as terrorist organisations by the Government of India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA),1967.
