The US Supreme Court has paved the way for the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian national, to India in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks. This marks a significant step in prosecuting individuals involved in the deadly assault.
Rana, currently detained in Los Angeles, is accused of facilitating the attacks that left over 170 people dead. His extradition became imminent after the Supreme Court denied his “petition for a writ of certiorari,” effectively rejecting his appeal to review a lower court’s decision. This follows a series of legal defeats, including rulings against him by multiple federal courts and the US Court of Appeals.
A former doctor in the Pakistan Army, the 63-year-old was a childhood friend of David Headley, a key conspirator in the Mumbai attacks. Headley, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, was arrested in 2009 and later sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in the attacks. Headley had conducted reconnaissance of major Mumbai landmarks, including the Taj Mahal Hotel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, under the guise of working for Rana’s Chicago-based immigration consultancy, First World Immigration Services.
Rana himself was arrested in 2009 and convicted in the US in 2011 for supporting Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the terrorist group behind the attacks, as well as a failed plot to attack Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten newspaper. However, he was acquitted of directly supporting the Mumbai attacks by a US jury.
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India has sought Rana’s extradition since 2011, filing charges against him for his alleged involvement in planning and executing the attacks. Preparations for his handover have been underway, with Indian and US officials holding discussions on logistical and legal arrangements, including Rana’s detention conditions upon his arrival in India.
The Indian government’s efforts gained momentum after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision, citing sufficient evidence to support extradition. With the Supreme Court’s denial of Rana’s appeal, the process now appears closer to completion.
Rana’s extradition highlights the ongoing collaboration between India and the United States in counterterrorism efforts, aiming to bring to justice those responsible for one of the most devastating attacks in India’s history.
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