Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday lauded the successful extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks key accused Tahawwur Rana from the US to India, saying it would help unravel the crucial details of the conspiracy behind the attacks.
The 64-year-old Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, a key accused in the case, landed in Delhi in a special plane from Los Angeles Thursday evening. A special court subsequently remanded him in custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for 18 days.
Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, and terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI) along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the three-day terror siege that killed 166 people.
“During the 26/11 attacks, we all were in Mumbai, it was a very serious incident. … Now, we have caught this person (Tahawwur Rana), and he can reveal who was the real mastermind behind the incident, who directed him to commit such an act. After getting all this information, we can take further action,” Pawar told reporters in Pune.
He expressed optimism that Rana’s interrogation would provide crucial insights into the orchestration of the attacks, including the individuals who directed him and the motives behind the devastation.
Pawar also recalled being present in Mumbai along with the then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and home minister R R Patil, during the attacks.
“After the operation, we visited all the attack sites. A probe was launched to identify the masterminds. Now that this man (Rana) has been extradited to India, it will come to light who were behind the attacks, on whose orders he acted and what their objective was,” he said.