NIA to bring 26/11 mastermind Tahawwur Rana to India today

On Wednesday, 26/11 mastermind Tahawwur Rana is expected to arrive in India, prompting two prisons—one in Delhi and another in Mumbai—to make specific arrangements in secret, in accordance with directives from the US judiciary regarding extradited individuals.

Rana is likely to spend the initial few weeks in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs are overseeing the entire operation.

Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian and active member of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had facilitated fellow jihadi David Coleman Headley—also known as Dawood Gilani—to travel to India using a Pakistani-American passport. The purpose was to identify potential targets for the Mumbai terror attacks being plotted by LeT in coordination with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI.

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Expressing pride in the carnage of 26 November 2008, Rana reportedly stated that the jihadis responsible deserved Pakistan’s highest posthumous military honours.

To date, the only LeT terrorist convicted for the attacks is Ajmal Kasab, who was captured alive during the 26/11 siege. In February, US President Donald Trump announced that Rana was “going back to India to face justice” and confirmed his extradition.

The extradition follows persistent efforts by the Modi government since 2019. In December of that year, India submitted a diplomatic request to the United States seeking Rana’s extradition. On 10 June 2020, India filed a case requesting his temporary detention to facilitate the process.

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Documents submitted in US courts by both nations state that Rana and David Headley were key figures in planning the Mumbai attacks and had close ties to ISI officer Major Iqbal, who was reportedly the mastermind behind the operation.

Investigators claim that Rana personally travelled to Mumbai from Dubai ahead of the attacks to ensure that all arrangements were in place. According to a police report, “He had 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 US Department of Justice document states that Rana and Headley were arrested by the FBI in 2009 while plotting an attack on a Danish newspaper and providing material support to Lashkar between 2005 and 2009.

In court testimony, Headley revealed that in early summer 2006, he and two Lashkar operatives discussed establishing an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for surveillance activities. After travelling to Chicago, Headley informed Rana—whom he had known since their school days in Pakistan—that he had been sent to India to scout targets.

Evidence shows that Rana posed as Headley in an email to the Danish newspaper, and by late summer 2009, both had agreed that funds sent to Rana could be used to support Headley’s activities in Denmark.

Rana, who owned First World Immigration Services in Chicago and other locations, authorised Headley to open a branch office in Mumbai as a front for the attacks. Using a five-year visa that Rana helped him obtain, Headley made five trips to India between 2007 and 2008 to conduct reconnaissance for the operation.

A US Justice Department report noted, “Rana directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headley’s cover story, and advised Headley on how to obtain a visa for travel to India.” Furthermore, email exchanges between Headley and Rana discussing Major Iqbal were discovered by Mumbai Police.