File photo shows courtroom sketch of Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana.
| Photo Credit: AP
Indian investigative agencies are anticipating a favourable decision soon from the newly elected U.S. government on the extradition of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks accused Tahawwur Rana to India.
On January 21, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected 63-year-old Rana’s review petition against his extradition. The Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman is accused of playing a key role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as a close accomplice of David Coleman Headley aka Daood Gilani, a Pakistani-origin U.S. national who had done reconnaissance of the potential targets of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists.
“The legal process allowing Rana’s extradition to India has been completed with the U.S. Supreme Court verdict. However, the final go-ahead has to be given by the U.S. administration. As a new government has been formed only last month, an executive order clearing Rana’s extradition is likely once the new U.S. government settles down,” said a government official.
Through diplomatic channels, India had submitted its request on December 4, 2019, seeking Rana’s extradition. On June 10, 2020, a complaint seeking his provisional arrest was filed. He lost the legal battle against the extradition request in the lower courts and various federal courts, after which he filed a review petition in the U.S. Supreme Court, which was also rejected.
Rana, along with his childhood friend Headley, was allegedly part of the conspiracy behind the terror attacks between November 26 and 29, 2008, in which 166 people were killed and 239 injured. They had first met at a Pakistani military boarding high school. After high school, Rana served as a doctor in the Pakistani Army, but later deserted the force and became a Canadian citizen before moving to Chicago, and opened several businesses, including an immigration law centre with offices in Chicago, New York, and Toronto.
Headley got involved in heroin trafficking and was twice convicted of drug offences. After his 1997 arrest, Rana posted his house as collateral for Headley’s bond. Rana also held his money and sent it to him as and when needed.
In 2000, Headley went to his first LeT meeting, moved to Pakistan in December 2001, and between 2002 and 2005, attended terror training camps. He then went to the U.S. in August 2005, told Rana about the training, and his plans to visit India for surveillance or attack. He legally changed his name to David Coleman Headley in February 2006 and got a new passport in that name to evade detection.
In late 2005 to early 2006, Headley met LeT operatives, discussed his friendship with Rana and disclosed that the latter operated an immigration law centre. The operatives were convinced that Rana’s business would be an ideal front for their activities in Mumbai. Rana agreed to open a Mumbai branch office of his business to assist Headley and helped him secure a business visa.
Headley then went to Pakistan and met LeT members, who instructed him to take general videos of Mumbai, including of the Taj Mahal hotel. During his stays in Mumbai, Rana helped him at various stages. Headley would also travel to Pakistan for handing over the video recordings to his handlers and get further instructions.
In July 2007, he went to Chicago and stayed with Rana, with whom he shared all the details. As his Indian visa had expired, Rana helped him get a new visa. In December 2007, at the LeT’s Pakistan headquarters, Headley met co-conspirators who told him about some details of the attack plans. The investigators have alleged that before and after the Mumbai attacks, the two remained in constant touch and Rana was well aware of Headley’s close involvement.
Published – February 07, 2025 10:26 pm IST
