26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack Mastermind Tahawwur Rana Successfully Extradited From US: NIA

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday confirmed the successful Tahawwur Rana extradition from the United States.

Rana is a key conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people and injured over 238.

Rana, a 64-year-old Canadian national born in Pakistan, had been held in US judicial custody.

India initiated extradition under the India-US Extradition Treaty. Rana fought the move through multiple legal appeals, all of which failed.

The District Court for the Central District of California ordered his extradition on May 16, 2023.

Rana then filed several petitions in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the US Supreme Court.

These included writs, habeas petitions, and emergency applications. All were rejected.

India secured a surrender warrant from the US government.

The NIA worked closely with the US Department of Justice and US Sky Marshals. Indian agencies, including the NSG, Ministry of External Affairs, and Ministry of Home Affairs, also played key roles.

The NIA said Rana conspired with David Coleman Headley (alias Daood Gilani) and terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI).

Both LeT and HUJI are banned under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.

The Tahawwur Rana extradition is being directly overseen by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, along with senior officials from the NIA and MHA.

Security has been heightened at NIA headquarters and Patiala House Court in Delhi. Rana is likely to be kept in a high-security unit in Tihar Jail.

He will be presented before a Delhi court soon.

He faces serious charges, including criminal conspiracy, murder, forgery, waging war against India, and multiple UAPA violations.

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