With the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India reviving memories of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recalled a narrow escape that has stayed with him for over 16 years.
Sarma, who was then a Congress leader, said that he had been scheduled to stay at the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008—one of the prime targets of the terrorist attack—but changed his plans at the last minute.
“That night could have ended very differently for me. I was to stay at the Taj, but destiny had other plans,” Sarma said.
“Due to a last-minute change, I moved to another hotel. But the horror of that night has stayed with me forever,” he added
On November 26, 2008, ten heavily armed terrorists from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) unleashed coordinated attacks across Mumbai, targeting several prominent locations including the Taj Hotel, Oberoi Trident, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The carnage lasted four days and claimed 166 lives, leaving hundreds injured and the nation scarred.
Sarma had earlier marked the second anniversary of the attack in a post dated November 26, 2010, where he wrote about the trauma of watching the National Security Guard’s (NSG) counter-terror operations unfold. “A single thought kept echoing in my mind—that karma will one day catch up with the masterminds behind this horrific act,” he had written.
Now, with the extradition of Tahawwur Rana from the United States, Sarma said the thought rings truer than ever. “Sixteen years later, seeing Tahawwur Rana back on Indian soil brings not just a sense of closure, but also renewed confidence. With decisive leadership at the helm, those plotting against India will think twice before daring to strike,” he posted on X.
Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin and a former Pakistani army doctor, was extradited to India after a prolonged legal battle in US courts. He arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening and was taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). A special court at Patiala House has remanded him to 18 days of NIA custody.