Washington DC [US], April 11 (ANI): The United States Department of Justice has termed the extradition of convicted terrorist Tahawwur Hussain Rana as 'a critical step' toward seeking justice for the victims of the 26/11 heinous Mumbai terror attacks.

'Rana's extradition is a critical step toward seeking justice for the six Americans and scores of other victims who were killed in the heinous attacks,' the Department of Justice said in a statement dated April 10, 2025.

Rana, 64, a Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan was extradited to stand trial in India on 10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai the DoJ statement said.

He is charged with numerous offences, including conspiracy, murder, commission of a terrorist act, and forgery, related to his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks by Laskhar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), a designated terrorist organization.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) successfully secured the extradition of Rana after years of sustained and concerted efforts to bring the key conspirator behind the 2008 mayhem to justice. According to the NIA, Rana was being held in judicial custody in the US pursuant to proceedings initiated under the India-US Extradition Treaty for his extradition. The extradition finally came through after Rana exhausted all legal avenues to stay the move.

Rana was brought to India late on April 10 and produced before a special NIA court which sent Rana to 18 days of NIA custody.

Rana will remain in the custody of the NIA for 18 days, where he will be questioned in detail about the 'complete conspiracy' behind the deadly 2008 attacks, said the agency.

The anti-terror agency has presented compelling evidence, including emails sent by 26/11 Mumbai attacks accused Tahawwur Rana, to justify his police custody. The agency informed the court that custodial interrogation is crucial to uncovering the sinister plot. Investigators will also examine Rana's role in orchestrating the deadly terror attacks.

NIA further stated that, as part of the criminal conspiracy, accused No. 1, David Coleman Headley, had discussed the entire operation with Tahawwur Rana before his visit to India. Anticipating potential challenges, Headley sent an email to Rana detailing his belongings and assets. He also informed Rana about the involvement of Ilyas Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman in the plot.

Between November 26 and November 29, 2008, ten LeT terrorists carried out a series of coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai. They infiltrated the city through the Arabian Sea and then broke into teams, dispersing to multiple locations and carried out attacks on railway station fired guns and threw grenades into crowds. They attacked two restaurants shooting indiscriminately at patrons. At the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel they gunned people down and detonated explosives. Attackers also shot and killed people at a Jewish community centre. As many as 166 victims, including six Americans, were killed and hundreds more were injured, the DoJ statement said adding that the attacks were among the most horrific and catastrophic in India's history. The lone terrorist Ajmal Kasab who was captured alive was hanged in 2012 after being tried and found guilty.

Rana facilitated a fraudulent cover for his childhood friend Headley to travel to India for purpose of conducting surveillance of potential attack sites for LeT.

'As India alleges, Headley had received training from LeT members in Pakistan and was in direct communication with LeT about plans to attack Mumbai. Among other things, Rana allegedly agreed to open a Mumbai branch of his immigration business and appoint Headley as the manager of the office, despite Headley's having no immigration experience. On two separate occasions, Rana allegedly helped Headley prepare and submit visa applications to Indian authorities that contained information Rana knew to be false. Rana also allegedly supplied, through his unsuspecting business partner, documentation in support of Headley's attempt to secure formal approval from Indian authorities to open a branch office of Rana's business. Over the course of more than two years, Headley allegedly repeatedly met with Rana in Chicago and described his surveillance activities on behalf of LeT, LeT's responses to Headley's activities, and LeT's potential plans for attacking Mumbai,' the DoJ detailed.

According to the US Department of Justice, India's pending proceedings against Rana are not the first proceedings in which Rana has been accused of conspiring to commit violent acts of terrorism.

In 2013, Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison following his trial conviction in the Northern District of Illinois for conspiring to provide material support to LeT and to a foiled LeT-sponsored terrorist plot in Copenhagen, Denmark. As part of those same criminal proceedings, Headley pleaded guilty to 12 federal terrorism charges, including aiding and abetting the murders of the six Americans in Mumbai and later planning to attack a Danish newspaper, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

In June 2020, the United States acted on a request for Rana's extradition submitted by India, which Rana contested for almost five years.

On May 16, 2023, a US magistrate judge in the Central District of California certified Rana's extradition to India. Rana then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which the US District Court in the Central District of California denied on August 10, 2023. On August 15, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that decision.

The US Supreme Court likewise denied Rana's petition for certiorari on January 21, 2025.

The Secretary of State issued a warrant ordering Rana's surrender to Indian authorities. Both the district court and the Ninth Circuit denied Rana's application for a stay of extradition, and on April 7, the US Supreme Court denied Rana's application for a stay of extradition.

On April 9, the US Marshals Service executed the Secretary's surrender warrant by surrendering Rana to Indian authorities for transportation to India.

'Rana's extradition is now complete,' the Department of Justice said.

The extradition litigation was handled by Assistant US Attorneys John J. Lulejian and David R. Friedman and former Assistant US Attorney Bram M Alden of the Central District of California and Deputy Director Christopher J. Smith, Associate Director Kerry A. Monaco, and former Associate Director Rebecca A. Haciski of the Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs. The US Marshals Service and attorneys and international affairs specialists in the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs provided support to this extradition. The FBI's Legal Attache Office in New Delhi also provided assistance. (ANI)