Extradited from US, key 26/11 terror plotter Rana finally lands in NIA net
Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana was extradited from the US and brought back to India on Thursday via a special chartered plane by a joint team of investigators. The 64-year-old Canadian national of Pakistani origin is alleged to have provided logistical support, including a visa through his Chicago-based immigration firm, to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative David Coleman Headley (also known as Daood Gilani) ahead of the 2008 attacks.
16 years on, law catches up
June 2008: David Headley begins reconnaissance missions in Mumbai for Lashkar-e-Toiba
Nov 13-21: Rana visits Indian cities, including Mumbai
Nov 26: 10 Pakistani terrorists attack Mumbai, killing 166 persons over 60 hours
Nov 27: Ajmal Kasab, lone surviving terrorist, arrested
Oct 27, 2009: FBI arrests Rana
in the US; a few days later, co-conspirator David Headley held while trying to flee US
Jan 9, 2011: US court convicts Rana, sentences him to 14 years for supporting the LeT
Dec 24: NIA files chargesheet and extradition request for Rana
Nov 21, 2012: Kasab hanged in Pune’s Yerawada jail
Jan 21, 2025: US Supreme Court declines Rana’s petition
Feb 13: US approves extradition after Modi-Trump meeting
Feb 27: Rana files emergency application before Justice Kagan (denied in March)
April 7: US Supreme Court denies final review petition
April 10: Rana extradited to India
According to officials, Rana conspired with operatives of designated terrorist organisations LeT and Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HuJI), along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to execute the devastating attacks that killed 166 persons and injured over 238. Rana landed in Delhi around 2:50 pm, where he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and underwent a medical examination at the airport.
The NIA confirmed Rana’s extradition after years of sustained efforts to bring the key conspirator to justice. “Rana was being held in judicial custody in the US under proceedings initiated under the India-US Extradition Treaty. The extradition was finalised after Rana exhausted all legal avenues to challenge the move,” the agency stated.
From Palam Airport, Rana was transported in an armoured vehicle under heavy security to Patiala House Courts Complex. The route was sanitised by the Delhi Police. He was produced before a special NIA court, which reserved order on a plea by the probe agency seeking his 20-day custody.
Rana had been under supervised detention at a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles after completing a 14-year sentence in 2023. His extradition to India was announced by US President Donald Trump on February 14 during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington. The District Court for the Central District of California had ordered Rana’s extradition on May 16, 2023, but he filed multiple appeals, including petitions before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the US Supreme Court, all of which were rejected.
India secured a surrender warrant for Rana through coordinated efforts involving the NIA, US Department of Justice, US Sky Marshal and other Indian intelligence agencies with support from the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs.
Before the Mumbai attacks, Rana had served in the Pakistan Army medical corps before emigrating to Canada in the late 1990s. He later moved to the US and established an immigration consultancy firm in Chicago, which he used to facilitate Headley’s reconnaissance missions in Mumbai. Officials believe Rana’s extradition could help uncover further details about the involvement of Pakistani state actors in the 26/11 attacks.
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