Accused Mumbai Attack Orchestrator Extradited to India from US

The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai was one of several places attacked on November 26, 2008. — Reuters

The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai was one of several places attacked on November 26, 2008. — Reuters
  • Rana extradited to India for 2008 Mumbai attack involvement.
  • It’s the first such US transfer to India in a terrorism case.
  • US Supreme Court rejected challenges to extradition.

NEW DELHI: Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian businessman implicated in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, arrived in New Delhi on Thursday following his extradition from the United States. This marks the first instance of such a transfer in a terrorism case between the two countries. The attacks, which took place in November 2008, remain one of India’s deadliest, claiming over 160 lives.

Rana, aged 64, a doctor-turned-businessman, faces accusations of assisting in the orchestration of the devastating Mumbai attacks.

India’s anti-terror agency, the NIA, stated, “The National Investigation Agency on Thursday successfully secured the extradition…after years of sustained and concerted efforts to bring the key conspirator…to justice.”

Indian security agencies accompanied Rana on his return after the US Supreme Court dismissed his appeals against the extradition.

Indian Home Minister Amit Shah hailed Rana’s extradition as a “great success” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration’s diplomatic efforts on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Shah stated, “It is the responsibility of the Indian government to bring back all those who have abused the land and people of India.”

Trump Announces Transfer

India formally requested Rana’s custody in June 2020. President Donald Trump announced Rana’s transfer earlier this year in February, during a joint press conference with Modi in Washington.

Rana received a 14-year prison sentence in the US in 2013 for providing support to Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Shafqat Ali Khan, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Office, mentioned at a media briefing on Thursday, “As far as our record indicates, he (Rana) did not even apply for renewal for his Pakistani-origin documents for the last two decades.”

Rana’s legal representative has described him as a “good man” who “got sucked into something.”

The Mumbai attacks, which spanned three days in November 2008, saw ten heavily armed assailants targeting prominent locations across the city. These included luxury hotels, a Jewish center, and the main train station, resulting in the deaths of 166 individuals.