26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Tahawwur Rana brought to Delhi

New Delhi | Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has been brought to India after being "successfully extradited" from the US, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced on Thursday.

The 64-year-old Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin landed in Delhi in a special plane on Thursday evening, ending days of speculation of when and how he will be extradited, officials said.

The NIA said in a statement that it had secured the successful extradition after years of sustained and concerted efforts to bring to justice the key conspirator behind the 2008 mayhem that claimed 166 lives.

"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.

The announcement that Rana would be finally extradited came when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US capital in February. "We are giving a very violent man back to India immediately to face justice in India," US President Donald Trump said at a joint press conference with Modi on February 14.

Rana was lodged in the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Los Angeles.

He was held in judicial custody in the US following 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 District Court for the Central District of California had ordered his extradition on May 16, 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 NIA said.

Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley alias 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 the three-day terror siege of India's financial capital.

Both LeT and HUJI have been declared terrorist organisations by the Indian government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Among the 166 killed were US, British and Israeli nationals. Besides, 238 were injured in the deadly attacks carried out by a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists on a railway station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre after they sneaked into Mumbai through the Arabian Sea.

Rana had served in the Pakistan Army medical corps before emigrating to Canada in late 1990s and started his immigration consultancy firm. He later moved to the US and set up an office in Chicago.

Through his firm, Rana gave cover to Headley to carry out reconnaissance mission in Mumbai so that the terrorists could launch the attacks.

The officials said Rana's extradition would help probe agencies expose the role of Pakistani state actors behind the 26/11 attacks and may shed new light on the investigation.

His extradition from the US could provide important leads into his travels in parts of northern and southern India days before the carnage in 2008, NIA officials said.

Rana visited Hapur and Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kochi in Kerala, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, and Mumbai in Maharashtra with his wife Samraz Rana Akhtar between November 13 and November 21, 2008, they said.