26/11 mastermind Tahawwur Rana extradited from US, to face trial in India under NIA custody

In a significant breakthrough in the long-standing 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, Tahawwur Rana, a key accused, has been extradited from the United States and is currently en route to India under heavy security, according to top intelligence sources. He is expected to land in New Delhi by early Thursday morning, escorted by a high-level team of Indian investigators and intelligence officials.

The extradition comes after the US Supreme Court denied Rana’s application for a stay, clearing the final legal hurdle. This marks the culmination of years of diplomatic and legal pursuit by Indian authorities who had been pushing for his return since June 2020, when they formally requested his provisional arrest.

Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman, is accused of playing a key logistical role in the 2008 attacks that left over 170 people dead across Mumbai. He is known to have helped his childhood friend and co-conspirator David Coleman Headley obtain travel documents and conduct reconnaissance of the 26/11 targets. Rana himself had traveled to Mumbai just days before the carnage, allegedly to oversee final preparations.

Top-level sources indicate that India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is personally monitoring the operation, in coordination with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The plan is to first present Rana before a special NIA court in New Delhi. Later, the Mumbai Crime Branch is expected to take over his custody for further interrogation.

To maintain secrecy and security, a special plane carrying Rana is scheduled to make a halt at an undisclosed location before arriving in India. Meanwhile, two high-security prisons—one each in Delhi and Mumbai—have been prepared to accommodate the high-profile detainee.

Rana’s extradition is seen as a critical moment in the pursuit of justice for the victims of the 26/11 attacks. Until now, Ajmal Kasab, the lone captured terrorist from that attack, was the only person to face trial in India. Rana’s return could potentially provide deeper insights into the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) network and its connections with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), both of which are believed to have backed the attacks.