Tahawwur Rana, wanted in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is expected to land in Delhi on Thursday, according to reports. Rana is being brought to India in a special plane by a National Investigation Agency (NIA) team and intelligence officials.
According to reports, two jails — one in Delhi and another in Mumbai — are being prepared as per US judiciary recommendations ahead of Rana’s arrival.
Moreover, security has been tightened outside the Patiala House court in Delhi where Rana is likely to be produced. A large number of security personnel from paramilitary forces and the Delhi Police have been deployed outside the court.
The Home Ministry has appointed Narender Mann as Special Public Prosecutor for conducting trials and other matters related to the case.
In a late night notification, the MHA said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 15 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 (34 of 2008), read with sub-section (8) of section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), the central government hereby appoints Narender Mann, advocate as special public prosecutor for conducting trial and other matters related to NIA case RC-04/2009/NIA/DLI on behalf of the National Investigation Agency before the NIA Special Courts at Delhi and Appellate Courts, for a period of three years from the date of publication of this notification or till the completion of trial of the said case, whichever is earlier.”
The multi-agency team completed the necessary procedures in the US and was handed the custody of Rana under the India-US extradition treaty.
Rana had appealed against his extradition to India in the US Supreme Court, but all his pleas were rejected, paving the way for him to face the law in India.
He had argued that he would be subjected to torture in India due to his Muslim religion, Pakistani origin, and relation to the putative charges in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack. He said he was being sent into a hornet’s nest and would be made the target of national and religious animosity, with his punishment being of the highest national interest.
His extradition to India is seen as a major diplomatic win for the Modi government. Following PM Narendra Modi’s US visit earlier this year, President Donald Trump had announced that Rana would be extradited to India to face justice.
Rana had allegedly arranged passports for Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley to travel to India. Headley, aka Dawood Gilani, in collaboration with the Pakistani spy agency ISI, had conducted a recce in Mumbai to select the targets for the terror attack.
He will be only the second accused facing justice in India for the deadly terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. So far, only Ajmal Kasab, who was nabbed by Mumbai Police during the attacks, was prosecuted in India.