Tahawwur Rana should be hanged immediately: Sanjay Raut

Mumbai, April 10 (IANS) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief spokesman and MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack key accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was extradited to India, should be hanged immediately.

He claimed the government will do so during the Bihar elections. “Rana should be immediately hanged, but he will be hanged during the Bihar polls (slated for later this year),” he said.

Raut pointed out that there was a 16-year-long battle to bring Rana to India, and it started during the Congress rule.

"So no one should take the credit for bringing back Rana," he said.

Raut said Rana is not the first accused to be extradited to India. He recalled that in the past, the 1993 serial blast accused Abu Salem too was extradited to India.

Raut gave his reaction after Rana, a 64-year-old Canadian national of Pakistani origin and one of the key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, landed at Delhi’s Palam airport at 2:50 pm on Thursday following his extradition from the US.

Rana was brought on a special flight escorted by a joint team of Indian intelligence and investigative officials.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a statement said the extradition happened after years of sustained and concerted efforts to bring the alleged key conspirator behind the 2008 mayhem to justice.

"With the active assistance of USDoJ, the US Sky Marshal, NIA worked closely with other Indian intelligence agencies, NSG through the entire extradition process, which also saw India's Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs coordinating with the other relevant authorities in the United States to take the matter to its successful conclusion", the statement read.

Raut also demanded that Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was captured in 2016 and was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged spying, should be brought back home. India has dismissed Pakistan's accusation as concocted.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Ashok Chavan said the extradition of Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana is a big victory for India.

Chavan said that the bitter memories of the 26/11 attacks are still fresh in the minds of Indians, especially Mumbaikars. “It was a Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack. The interrogation of Tahawwur Rana may shed more light on the conspiracy behind the Mumbai attack and some other terrorist activities. Therefore, Rana's extradition is a big victory for India, not only from the diplomatic but also from the legal point of view,” he said.

He said that the US Supreme Court also gave a favorable verdict on Rana's extradition petition, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi handled this matter well on the diplomatic and legal front.

Chavan also mentioned that India had previously succeeded in bringing many gangsters like Abu Salem, Chhota Rajan, and Ravi Pujari to India.

--IANS

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