In what is seen as a major diplomatic win for India, Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is expected to be extradited to India from the United States in the next 48 hours.
Sources on Wednesday said his extradition process is being coordinated by a multi-agency team with the authorities concerned in the US.
The development comes after the US Supreme Court on Monday rejected Rana’s plea, paving the way for his extradition to India to face Indian law. He has exhausted all legal remedies that were available to him in the US.
Speaking at a press conference, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “As far as the extradition of Mr Rana is concerned at this point, I do not have an update…but we will provide you an update at the appropriate time.”
Meanwhile, Rana’s extradition is said to be based on the provisions of the India-US Extradition Treaty. Once he is brought back to the country, his custody will depend on certain grounds which will be set out in the extradition order. Most likely, the NIA will take his custody when he lands here.
He is being brought to the country in connection with the conspiracy case filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), back in the year 2009, which was also related to the Mumbai terror attacks.
Rana, who is a Pakistani-Canadian national, was also linked to the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and allegedly provided support to those behind the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks that claimed over 160 lives.
The Government of India has been relentlessly seeking Rana’s extradition for years and pursued the matter with successive governments in Washington. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Washington in February, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration had approved the extradition of “very evil” Rana, wanted by Indian probe agencies.
Rana and David Headley were detained by the FBI at the Chicago airport in October 2009 when they were allegedly flying out to execute an alleged mission to attack a Danish newspaper that had published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Their arrests also revealed their alleged role in the Mumbai attacks.