Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday hailed the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, as a “big success” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s diplomacy.
Without directly naming the Congress party, Shah took a veiled dig at previous administrations, stating that the governments during whose tenure the 2008 Mumbai bomb blasts occurred had failed to bring Rana back to face trial.
“It is the responsibility of the Indian government to bring back all those who have misbehaved with the land and people of India under the law of the country. The return of Tahawwur Rana is a big success of the Modi government’s diplomacy, because the governments under whose rule the bomb blasts took place could not bring him back,”
said a post from the Office of Amit Shah on social media platform X.
तहव्वुर राणा की वापसी मोदी सरकार की ऐतिहासिक कूटनीतिक सफलता है। pic.twitter.com/UHfmY8Jss5
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 9, 2025
Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian national, has been accused of criminal conspiracy in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed over 174 people. He is expected to stand trial in India.
On April 7, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected Rana’s emergency plea seeking a stay on his extradition to India. The application, submitted to Chief Justice Roberts on March 20, 2025, was denied with the court stating:
“The application for stay addressed to The Chief Justice and referred to the Court is denied.”
The Mumbai Crime Branch confirmed that a case against Rana was originally lodged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi, focusing on his links to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and his role in aiding the terror plot.
However, officials noted that it remains uncertain whether Mumbai Police will be able to take Rana into custody for further investigation.
“Only after examining the grounds of extradition will it be clear whether custody can be sought by the Mumbai Crime Branch in this matter,”
sources stated, adding that no formal communication has yet been received by the Mumbai Police regarding Rana’s transfer for questioning or judicial procedures.
Rana was convicted in the US for supporting LeT, the banned terrorist group responsible for orchestrating the coordinated attacks across Mumbai that included the Taj Hotel, CST Railway Station, and Leopold Café.
His extradition is being hailed as a major diplomatic breakthrough and a step toward justice for the victims of the 26/11 attacks, one of the darkest chapters in Indian history.