Mumbai
The way has been cleared to bring 2008 Mumbai attack culprit Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India. The US Supreme Court on Saturday approved the extradition of Kotahavur Rana to India. The US Supreme Court rejected his appeal against the sentence. Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, is wanted in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Rana’s lawyer had argued earlier this month that the Supreme Court should block his extradition based on the interpretation of ‘crime’ in the US-India extradition treaty.
After this decision, the last obstacle coming in the way of bringing Rana to India has also been removed. This was Rana’s last resort to avoid extradition after losing the battle in several federal courts, including the US Court of Appeals. Rana is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.
US government supported extradition
Last year, the US government supported India’s request to extradite Rana. After getting approval for extradition from the US federal court, Rana had filed a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court on November 13. On December 16, the US Solicitor General filed a response, urging the court to dismiss his petition.
Rana was associated with David Coleman Headley
Rana’s name is linked to Pakistani American terrorist David Coleman Headley, the key mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. In 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists terrorized Mumbai, which is considered the financial capital of India. The terrorists fired for 60 hours at many places, in which 166 people, including 6 Americans, were killed.
Who is Tahawwur Rana?
Mumbai Police had included Tahawwur Rana’s name in its charge sheet in connection with the 26/11 terrorist attack. He is accused of working as an active member of Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. In the charge sheet, Rana was accused of helping 26/11 terror attack mastermind David Coleman Headley. Tahawwur Rana had done recce of the places where attacks were to be carried out in Mumbai and had prepared a blueprint and handed it over to Pakistani terrorists.
Tahawwur Rana is David Headley’s childhood friend
Tahawwur Rana is a childhood friend of David Coleman Headley alias Dawood Saeed Geelani. Headley is an American citizen. His mother was American and Tipa was Pakistani. US authorities arrested him from Chicago in October 2009. Headley was sentenced to 35 years in prison by the US court on January 24, 2013 after finding him guilty of his involvement in the Mumbai attacks. Tahawwur Rana studied at Hasan Abdal Cadet School in Pakistan, where Headley also studied for 5 years before shifting to America.
After working as a doctor in the Pakistani Army, Tahawwur Rana shifted to Canada and after a few years he also got Canadian citizenship. He started a consultancy firm named ‘First World Immigration Services’ in Chicago. Rana’s company also had a branch in Mumbai, which helped Headley Coleman Headley in conducting recce of the places in Mumbai which were targeted by the terrorists of Pakistani terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) on November 26, 2008. .
10 terrorists from Pakistan terrorized Mumbai
10 Lashkar terrorists had entered Mumbai by sea on November 26, 2008, carrying a huge amount of ammunition and weapons. They massacred at 9 places in Mumbai. The 8 places targeted by the terrorists were in South Mumbai – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Taj Hotel, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, Nariman House, Metro Cinema and Times of India Building and the lane behind St. Xavier’s College. . There was also an explosion in a taxi in Mumbai’s port area Mazgaon and Vile Parle.
By the morning of 28 November, Mumbai Police and security forces had secured all the places except the Taj Hotel. The help of National Security Guards (NSG) had to be taken to eliminate the terrorists hiding in Taj Hotel. The NSG launched ‘Operation Black Tornado’ on 29 November, which ended with the death of the last remaining attackers at the Taj Hotel, ending a 72-hour period of terror in Mumbai. A total of 166 people, including 6 American citizens, died and more than 300 people were injured in these terrorist attacks.
