Seventeen years after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Tahawwur Rana will face justice in India. Rana, 64, was brought from the US after a 14-year-long diplomatic and legal battle. The Pakistani-Canadian terror accused provided logistics and financial assistance to co-conspirators, including David Headley, who is serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US. Amid a sense of elation and pride in India, a tweet from Narendra Modi's post from 2011 is being widely shared on X.
During PM Modi's visit to the United States in February, US President Donald Trump announced his administration would extradite Rana to India.
"I am pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters (Tahawwur Rana) and one of the very evil people of the world, having to do with the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack to face justice in India," Trump had said.
Hailing Rana's extradition as a diplomatic win, the BJP said it was possible due to PM Modi.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Union Minister and BJP leader Piyush Goyal said the Congress did not do anything to punish the terrorists and the extradition was possible because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “foremost and paramount commitment” to India’s national security and national interest.
Talking to IANS, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari also lauded the development, saying: “India is fortunate to have a Prime Minister like Narendra Modi, who has led the country with a positive agenda… This is a significant achievement for the Modi government. The entire country is grateful to PM Modi and his government.”
Gulfstream Jet, US Marshals, 11-hour Romania Stopover: How Tahawwur Rana Was Brought to India
Rana, 64, was extradited from the US 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 NSG and NIA, comprising senior officials, on a special plane from Los Angeles, US. The NIA investigation team at the airport arrested Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, soon after he emerged from the airplane, after completing all the necessary legal formalities.
The extradition operation was executed using a Gulfstream G550 — a super mid-size, ultra-long-range business jet. The aircraft was hired from a Vienna-based charter service.
The jet took off from Miami, Florida at 2.15 am local time on Wednesday (11.45 am IST). It landed in Bucharest, Romania, at 7.00 pm local time (9.30 pm IST) the same day. The flight then halted in the Romanian capital for nearly 11 hours, before resuming the final leg of its journey.
Rana, 64, was guarded by teams of NSG and NIA, comprising senior officials, and US Sky Marshal throughout the entire extradition process, which also saw India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs coordinating with the other relevant authorities in the United States to take the matter to its successful conclusion.
Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI), a long 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.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) "formally arrested" Tahawwur Rana immediately after he landed at the Delhi airport following his extradition from the United States, according to an official statement.
Rana was escorted to Delhi by teams of NIA and National Security Guard (NSG), comprising senior officials, on a special plane from Los Angeles, the statement said.
Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI), along with another Pakistan-based co-conspirator, to carry out the devastating terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
A total of 166 people were killed and more than 238 injured in the deadly attacks.
