26/11 Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Rana lands in Delhi, gets arrested by NIA
New Delhi: Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has landed at Palam Airport following his extradition from the US.
He was brought to India on a special flight after the US Supreme Court dismissed his final appeal against extradition on Wednesday. He now faces prosecution under Indian law.
The 64-year-old was brought to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) office in a bulletproof vehicle, where his arrest was formally recorded. After completing other legal formalities, he will be shifted to the high-security block of Tihar Jail.
According to sources, he is expected to be produced before Delhi’s Patiala House Court and may later be transferred to Mumbai to stand trial.
Advocate Piyush Sachdeva from Delhi Legal Services Authority will represent accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said today that it has successfully secured the extradition of Rana, the mastermind of the deadly 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, after years of sustained and concerted efforts to bring the key conspirator behind the 2008 mayhem to justice.
According to the NIA, Rana was being held in judicial custody in the US pursuant to 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 16th May 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 U.S. 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.
"Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley @ 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 devastating terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. A total of 166 persons were killed and over 238 injured in the deadly attacks. Both LeT and HUJI have been declared as terrorist organisations by the Government of India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967," the NIA said.
(Agency inputs)