The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has successfully extradited Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian businessman, from the United States to India for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that claimed 166 lives.
Rana, 64, was convicted in the U.S. in 2013 for providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based terrorist organization behind the attacks. His extradition is a major milestone in India’s continued effort to ensure that every conspirator of 26/11 is brought to justice.
Sadanand Date, Director General of the NIA and a decorated IPS officer who was severely injured while fighting terrorists at Mumbai’s Cama Hospital during the 2008 attacks. For his gallantry, Date was awarded the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry.
Rana’s return follows prolonged legal proceedings in the U.S., which included appeals to halt his extradition. The U.S. courts ultimately ruled in favor of India. They ruled that Rana’s role in aiding co-conspirator David Coleman Headley warranted trial under Indian law. The NIA has filed a 405-page chargesheet against Rana accusing him of facilitating charge missions through his Chicago-based immigration firm. Headley, posing as a business partner, used this cover to identify high-profile targets in Mumbai before the attacks.
