Tahawwur Rana, Convicted in 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks, Being Extradited to India from US Today
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Mumbai, 9th April 2025: After over a decade of legal proceedings, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key conspirator in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, is being extradited to India from the United States. A joint team comprising officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has escorted Rana on a special flight, expected to land in India late tonight.
Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, will remain in NIA custody for the next several weeks as part of the investigation into his role in the 26/11 attacks that left 175 people dead and over 300 injured.
US Supreme Court Clears Final Legal Hurdle
The extradition follows a decisive ruling by the US Supreme Court on Monday, rejecting Rana’s final plea to halt the process. In his petition, Rana cited health concerns including Parkinson’s disease and claimed he might face torture if extradited. However, the court upheld previous decisions by lower courts, allowing India to bring him back under the Indo-US extradition treaty.
Rana’s Role in the Mumbai Attacks
According to a 405-page chargesheet filed by the NIA, Rana actively assisted his childhood friend David Coleman Headley, the main plotter of the Mumbai attacks and a known Lashkar-e-Taiba operative. Authorities allege that Rana, a former doctor in the Pakistani Army, used his immigration consultancy business — First World Immigration Services — as a front to help Headley establish an office in Mumbai.
This office enabled Headley to conduct reconnaissance of potential targets, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, both of which were attacked by terrorists in November 2008.
“Rana Facilitated Terror Operations”: US Prosecutors
US court documents reveal that Rana arranged for fake documentation to help Headley conceal the real purpose of his visits to India. “Emails and supporting evidence confirm that Rana not only knew of Headley’s ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba but also helped him in planning, logistics, and strategy,” said US prosecutors during the extradition hearings.
The US government maintained that Rana was fully aware of Headley’s meetings, targets, and intentions — making him complicit in the overall terror plot.
India’s Persistent Legal and Diplomatic Efforts
India began seeking Rana’s extradition over a decade ago, with the NIA filing a chargesheet in 2011. Diplomatic requests began in December 2019, followed by a formal arrest request in June 2020. The Indian government submitted official documentation to the US Justice Department in February 2021 and presented detailed evidence during court hearings in June that year.
Conviction in Denmark Plot
While Rana was not convicted in the US for the Mumbai attacks, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011 for conspiring to attack a Danish newspaper that published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. The plot was linked to the same extremist networks.
Who is Tahawwur Rana?
Rana, 64, is a Canadian citizen who originally served as a doctor in the Pakistani Army. After migrating to Canada in the late 1990s, he moved to the US where he established his immigration services business with branches in Chicago and elsewhere. Fluent in at least seven languages, he traveled frequently to Pakistan, Germany, the UK, and Canada.
He was arrested by the FBI in October 2009 at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport based on evidence provided by Headley, who turned approver in both the Mumbai and Denmark plots.
Next Steps: NIA Custody and Interrogation
With Rana’s arrival in India imminent, officials confirmed that the NIA will begin detailed interrogation to gather more information on the 26/11 conspiracy, including the involvement of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives.
The extradition marks a major breakthrough in India’s pursuit of justice for the victims of one of the deadliest terror attacks in the country’s history.
