Canadian businessman of Pakistani origin Tahawwur Rana is currently incarcerated in the United States.
Mumbai attack (26/11) accuses Tahawwur Rana of being brought to India. The US court approved Rana’s extradition under the Indo-US extradition treaty. According to the Economic Times report, the process of bringing Rana to India through diplomatic channels has begun.
On August 15, 2024, Rana appealed the extradition decision, which was rejected by the district court. The US court had said in its ruling that he could be sent to India under the extradition treaty between the two countries.
Rana’s name is also mentioned as an accused in the 405-page indictment on the Mumbai attacks. According to this, Rana is a member of ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to the indictment, Rana was helping main defendant David Coleman Headley, the mastermind of the attack.
On November 26, 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists attacked Mumbai. Among them, 166 people were killed and 300 were injured. Some American citizens were also among those killed. In this encounter, police killed 9 terrorists and arrested Ajmal Kasab. He was hanged in 2012.
On November 26, 2008, 166 people were killed in the Mumbai attack. 9 terrorists were also killed in the action of NSG commandos and security forces.
Rana-Headley had prepared the plan for the attack on Mumbai. According to the Mumbai Police chargesheet, Rana was helping the terrorists give the location of the attack and the places of stay after he arrived in India. It was Rana who had prepared the plan based on which the terrorists carried out the attack.
Rana and Headley were charged with hatching a terrorist plot. It was stated in the charge sheet that Rana played an important role in planning the Mumbai attack plot.
Rana’s appeal was rejected on August 15, 2024
Rana’s appeal against the extradition decision was rejected by the US court on August 15. The US court had said in its August 15 ruling that he could be returned to India under the extradition treaty between the two countries.
To avoid being handed over to India, Tahawwur Rana, of Pakistani origin, filed a Habeas Corpus petition with the American court. The Habeas corpus petition is used when a person is illegally detained. However, the Los Angeles District Court said in its ruling that given the allegations on the basis of which India sought Tahawwur’s extradition, his extradition could be permitted.
After the verdict against him, Rana filed another petition with the Ninth Circuit Court. The decision on this subject fell on Thursday. In which the dismissal of the petition for habeas corpus was affirmed. The panel found that Rana’s crimes fell within the scope of the U.S.-India extradition treaty.
The panel acknowledged that India had provided strong evidence of the allegations against Rana regarding the attack. Rana can, however, appeal this decision.
David Headley was the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks. Rana helped him financially – archive photo
Tahawwur is a childhood friend of attack mastermind David Headley. At last year’s court hearing, government lawyers argued that Tahawwur was a childhood friend of attack mastermind David Headley and knew that Headley worked with Lashkar-e-Taiba. together. By assisting Headley and providing him with financial assistance, Tahawwur was supporting the terrorist organization and the terrorists who accompanied it.
Rana had information about who Headley was meeting and what he was talking about. He also knew the planning of the attack and the names of some targets. The US government has said that Rana was part of this whole conspiracy and there is every chance that he committed the crime of financing the terrorist attack.