Mumbai
Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian businessman of Pakistani origin who was involved in the 26/11 terrorist attack in India’s financial capital Mumbai, may soon be handed over to India. For this, work has started on diplomatic channels. An American court has justified the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India, after which talks are going on between the two countries regarding extradition.
According to the report, the process of bringing Tahawwur Rana to India through diplomatic channels is underway. In August 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Tahawwur Rana could be extradited to India under the extradition treaty between the two countries.
American panel gave information regarding extradition
The panel affirmed the District Court’s decision to dismiss Tahawwur Hussain Rana’s habeas corpus petition challenging a magistrate judge’s decision to declare Rana extraditable to India for his alleged involvement in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. .
The Panel also held that India had provided sufficient competent evidence to support the magistrate judge’s finding that Rana had committed the offenses charged. Mumbai Police has included Rana’s name in the 405-page charge sheet in connection with the 26/11 attacks. Rana is accused of being an operative of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
What are the complications regarding extradition?
The court said that the extradition treaty between India and the United States contains an exception called Non Bis is Idem, which applies when the accused has been previously convicted of, or acquitted for, the same crime.
However, the court also said that the charges against Rana in India are separate from the cases tried against him in US courts, so the non bis, in idem exception does not apply.
Let us tell you that almost a year after the Mumbai attacks on 26 November 2011, the FBI arrested Rana in Chicago. Rana and his partner Coleman Headley had together reconnoitered the sites for the Mumbai attacks, and prepared a blueprint to execute terrorists from Pakistan.
Evidence against Tahawwur Rana
The US court rejected Rana’s plea against extradition, citing sufficient evidence against him by India. His name is included in the Mumbai Police chargesheet for the 26/11 attacks. He is accused of being an active member of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Rana had allegedly helped Mumbai attacks mastermind David Coleman Headley in reconnaissance of possible hideouts in Mumbai. The charge sheet details his involvement in planning these attacks along with Headley.
Non-bis in idem clauses will not apply
The court said that the non-bis in idem clause in the India-US extradition treaty does not apply here. This clause prevents extradition if a person has been tried elsewhere for the same crime. However, the charges against Rana are different in India and the US, so this exception is irrelevant.
Rana arrested from Chicago a year after Mumbai attacks
Nearly a year after the Mumbai terror attacks, the FBI arrested Rana in Chicago. Despite being acquitted of charges in the US, he remains in custody pending an extradition request from India.
Complete planning of 26/11
Tahawwur Rana and David Coleman Headley together hatched a plan for Pakistani terrorists to target Mumbai. Key locations for attacks were identified in their blueprint. Currently, Rana is lodged in a Los Angeles jail awaiting further proceedings regarding his extradition to India.