Beed (Maharashtra) [India], April 10: Senior Advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ujjwal Nikam, who served as the Special Public Prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, emphasized that the extradition of Tahawwur Rana is being conducted through a “completely legal procedure.”
“This is a completely legal procedure. It is important to see what case is filed against him. I will not comment further until the entire process is complete,” Nikam told reporters.
Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian national, is a close associate of David Coleman Headley, one of the masterminds behind the 2008 attacks that left 166 people dead and over 300 injured.
His extradition, long sought by Indian authorities, is seen as a pivotal step toward justice. The process gained momentum after the US Supreme Court recently cleared the path for his transfer to India.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai reaffirmed that India’s counter-terrorism vigilance has significantly strengthened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
“Since Narendra Modi has become the Prime Minister, a close watch has been kept on those working against the country. Under his leadership and the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, terrorism is about to end in India. Stringent actions have been taken against traitors,” Rai said during a press conference in Patna.
The extradition news also drew an emotional response from Eknath Omble, the brother of Ashok Chakra awardee Tukaram Omble, a Mumbai police sub-inspector who lost his life while capturing terrorist Ajmal Kasab alive during the 26/11 attacks.
“It was a painful night—many innocent people and policemen were killed. Tahawwur Rana, as a close ally of David Headley, should have been hanged earlier. But today is a big day for the country. I urge the government to hang him as soon as possible,” Eknath Omble told ANI.
“He should receive such strict punishment that it deters those in Pakistan who enable such attacks. We tolerated the delay in Kasab’s punishment because it exposed the real face of Pakistan to the world,” he added.
Tukaram Omble, widely hailed as a hero, was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peacetime gallantry award. Despite being armed only with a baton, he courageously confronted Kasab, ensuring his capture at the cost of his own life.
With Rana’s return imminent, India’s judiciary, security, and intelligence agencies are preparing for what is expected to be a landmark trial in the country’s ongoing fight against terrorism.