NIA team to soon visit US to bring back Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana

Sources said the NIA's Director General has formed a five-member team, led by an Inspector General (IG)-rank officer, to travel to the US soon and finalize the extradition process for Tahawwur Rana.
NIA team likely to visit USA soon for extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Tahawwur Rana
NIA team likely to visit USA soon for extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Tahawwur Rana
Updated on
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NEW DELHI: A team of senior NIA officers is set to travel to the United States soon to finalize the formalities for the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, one of the masterminds behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Sources indicate that the agency is in ongoing communication with its US counterpart following the rejection of the review petition by the US Supreme Court.

Sources stated that the Director General (DG) of the NIA has formed a team of five officers, led by an Inspector General (IG)-rank official, who is set to travel to the United States soon to finalize the extradition process for Tahawwur Hussain Rana.

They said that with the US Supreme Court’s rejection of a review petition filed by Rana challenging his extradition to India the decks are now cleared, allowing Indian authorities to accelerate the process of bringing him to India to face justice.

A source said, “The team led by an IG-rank officer is likely to visit the US by the end of this month and details of the same have been shared with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for required clearance.”

It is to be noted that on November 13 last year Rana had filed a “petition for a writ of certiorari” before the US Supreme Court and in his plea he had argued that he was tried and acquitted in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago) on charges related to the Mumbai terror attacks and he could not be sent to India for a second trial on the same charges.

However, on January 25, 2025, the US Supreme Court had said, “Petition DENIED”, which eventually meant an end to his last legal resort to avoid extradition to India.

Meanwhile, US State Department said that it is currently evaluating the next steps about Rana’s extradition to India. A spokesperson from the State Department is reported to have said that the US has long supported India’s efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Reportedly in a statement, the spokesperson said, “In view of the recent Supreme Court decision, and consistent with applicable US law, the Department of State is currently evaluating next steps in this case. We have long supported India’s efforts to ensure the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks face justice.”

Rana, 63, has been held in a Los Angeles prison after the FBI arrested him in Chicago in 2009 on charges of being part of a Pakistan-backed network. He is linked to Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, also known as “Daood Gilani”, a key figure in the Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed.

Tahawwur Rana is accused of aiding Headley and others in Pakistan to support the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in carrying out the attack. Headley became an approver in the case and is serving a 35-year prison sentence in the US for his involvement in the attack.

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