The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday evening formally arrested Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the key conspirator in the deadly 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, immediately after his arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), New Delhi, following his successful extradition from the United States, the agency said.
NIA had secured Rana’s extradition following years of sustained and concerted efforts and after the terror mastermind’s last-ditch efforts to get a stay on his extradition from the US failed.
Rana was escorted to New Delhi by teams of National Security Guard (NSG) and NIA, comprising senior officials, on a special plane from Los Angeles, United States. The NIA investigation team at the airport arrested Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin living primarily in Chicago (US), soon after he emerged from the airplane after completing all the necessary legal formalities.
With the coordinated efforts of India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs, along with the relevant authorities in the United States, NIA has worked closely with other Indian intelligence agencies through the entire extradition process, which marked a major step in India’s efforts to bring individuals involved in terrorism to justice, irrespective of which part of the world they had fled to.
Rana was being held in judicial custody in the US pursuant to proceedings initiated by the NIA under the India-US Extradition Treaty. The extradition finally came through after Rana’s various litigations and appeals, including an emergency application before the U.S. Supreme Court, were rejected with the active assistance of U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, U.S. Marshals Service, FBI’s Legal Attache Office in New Delhi, and U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser for Law Enforcement.
The diligent and persistent efforts of India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs culminated in securing the surrender warrant for the fugitive, leading to his eventual extradition.
Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley @ Daood Gilani and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI), along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the devastating terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. A total of 166 persons were killed and over 238 injured in the deadly attacks. Both LeT and HUJI have been declared as terrorist organisations by the Government of India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Security was beefed outside the NIA office at Lodhi Road in New Delhi. Delhi police put up barricades to avoid any mishap during the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the government has appointed Advocate Narendra Mann as the Special Public Prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs announced his appointment through a gazette notification, stating that he will serve for three years or until the trial concludes, whichever comes first.
Between 2011 and 2019, Mann served as Special Public Prosecutor for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the Delhi High Court, handling major criminal cases, appeals, writ petitions, and corruption trials. His extensive experience includes high-profile matters such as the Medical Council scam, AICTE scam, Commonwealth Games cases, CGHS Societies scam, and banking frauds. (ANI)
