NIA Secures Extradition of 26/11 Mastermind Tahawwur Rana from U.S.

In a major breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday successfully extradited Tahawwur Hussain Rana, one of the key conspirators behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, from the United States to India, following years of legal and diplomatic efforts.

Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian national, had been in judicial custody in the U.S. after India initiated extradition proceedings under the India-U.S. Extradition Treaty. His return comes after he exhausted all legal options in American courts, including appeals in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and petitions before the U.S. Supreme Court—all of which were rejected.

The District Court for the Central District of California had approved Rana's extradition on May 16, 2023. Following that, India obtained a surrender warrant from the U.S. government, paving the way for the final extradition process.

The NIA, with support from the U.S. Department of Justice (USDoJ), U.S. Sky Marshal, and Indian intelligence agencies, carried out the extradition operation. The Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs also played a critical role in coordinating with U.S. authorities to bring the operation to a successful conclusion.

Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani and operatives of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI), along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, in planning and executing the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead and over 238 injured.

Both LeT and HUJI are proscribed terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and have been implicated in multiple acts of terrorism in India.