In a major breakthrough in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday successfully secured the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the key conspirator behind the 2008 carnage, from the United States.
Rana, who had been in judicial custody in the US, was extradited after exhausting all legal remedies to resist the move. He had challenged the extradition order from the District Court for the Central District of California, issued on May 16, 2023, in multiple courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the US Supreme Court. All his petitions, including a writ of certiorari, two habeas petitions, and an emergency application, were denied.
The extradition was made possible under the India-US Extradition Treaty, and came into effect after India obtained a surrender warrant for Rana from the US government.
The NIA, with the active assistance of the US Department of Justice (USDoJ), coordinated the entire extradition process in partnership with Indian intelligence agencies, the National Security Guard (NSG), and the Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs.
Rana is charged with conspiring alongside David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, and operatives from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI)—both of which are designated terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. He is accused of helping plan and facilitate the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which killed 166 people and injured over 238 others.
This extradition marks a significant step forward in India’s long-standing efforts to bring all perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks to justice.