26/11 Accused Tahawwur Rana Set To Face Trial In India After US Extradition; Jails In Delhi, Mumbai Prepped Up

With 26/11 mastermind Tahawwur Rana scheduled to arrive in India on Wednesday, two prisons-one in Delhi and another in Mumbai-have been discreetly instructed to make special arrangements, in accordance with recommendations from the US judiciary regarding extradited individuals, reported the Times of India.

Initially, Rana is expected to be in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for several weeks. The operation was overseen by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, alongside officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Photo Credit: PTI

Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian national and active member of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), facilitated the acquisition of passports for his associate, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley (also known as Dawood Gilani), enabling him to travel to India and identify targets for the terrorist attack being orchestrated by Lashkar in coordination with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's intelligence agency.

Rana reportedly expressed satisfaction over the deaths in Mumbai on 26 November 2008, and claimed that the terrorists responsible deserved Pakistan's highest military honours posthumously.

To date, only Ajmal Kasab-the sole LeT terrorist captured alive during the 26/11 attacks-has been prosecuted.

In February, US President Donald Trump confirmed Rana's extradition to India, stating he was pleased to announce that Rana would be "returning to India to face justice".

The extradition marks the outcome of consistent efforts by the Modi government since 2019. In December of that year, India submitted a formal diplomatic request to the United States for Rana's extradition.

Subsequently, on 10 June 2020, India filed a legal request seeking his provisional arrest as a precursor to the extradition process.

According to documents submitted in a US court by both nations, Rana was a close associate of ISI officer Major Iqbal, the alleged mastermind behind the Mumbai attacks. Together, Rana and Headley laid the foundation for the deadly assaults.

Investigators claim Rana personally travelled to Mumbai via Dubai in advance of the attacks to ensure logistical details were in place.

A police report states: "He checked into the Renaissance Hotel in Powai during his visit to India between 11 and 21 November 2008. The attacks occurred five days after his departure."

A document from the US Department of Justice details how Rana and Headley were arrested by the FBI in 2009 while conspiring to attack a Danish newspaper and providing material support to Lashkar from 2005 to 2009.

In testimony provided in a US court, Headley recounted that in early summer 2006, he and two Lashkar operatives discussed setting up an immigration office in Mumbai as a front for his reconnaissance activities. He later travelled to Chicago to inform Rana, his longtime friend since their school days in Pakistan, of his mission to scout targets in India.

Their collaboration was such that, by late summer 2009, they agreed that funds previously given to Rana could be redirected to support Headley's operations in Denmark. Evidence revealed that Rana impersonated Headley in an email to the Danish newspaper.

In the case of the Mumbai attacks, Headley obtained Rana's approval to open a branch of First World Immigration Services-Rana's company based in Chicago and other locations-in Mumbai, using it as a cover for his surveillance. Between 2007 and 2008, Headley visited India five times, conducting reconnaissance under a five-year visa which Rana had helped him secure.

According to the justice department, "Rana instructed a First World associate to prepare documents supporting Headley's cover story and guided him on how to obtain a visa for travel to India."

Mumbai Police also unearthed email correspondence between Headley and Rana, which included discussions about Major Iqbal.