Washington: In a big announcement after his bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump said his administration has approved the extradition of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack accused, Tahawwur Rana to India.
During a joint press meeting with PM Modi after their bilateral meeting, Trump said. “I am pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters (Tahawwur Rana) and one of the very evil people of the world, having to do with the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack to face justice in India.”
“He is going back to India to face justice,” he added.
PM Modi appreciated the US’s stand to extradite the terror accused and thanked President Trump for confirming his extradition.
“A perpetrator of the Mumbai terror attack is being extradited for his interrogation and trial in India. I thank President Trump for expediting the process.”
This announcement comes after the US Supreme Court on January 21 rejected Rana’s review petition paving the way for his extradition to India.
“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,” the US State Department had said.
“We have long supported India’s efforts to ensure the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks face justice,” the statement added.
Pakistani-origin businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana is accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans. He has been linked to Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, a key conspirator in the attacks.
He will be interrogated by Indian agencies and face a trial in India.
Rana is also accused of having close links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). An over-400-page charge sheet by the Mumbai Police mentions that Tahawwur Hussain Rana came to India November 11, 2008, and stayed in the country till November 21. He spent two of these days at the Renaissance Hotel in Mumbai’s Powai. Mumbai crime branch had found email communications between Headley and Rana. In one of the emails related to the 26/11 terror attacks, David Headley asked about Major Iqbal’s email id. Major Iqbal, an operative of the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was named as an accused in the 26/11 terror attack case.
Rana was previously prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The second superseding indictment charged him with three counts. The jury convicted him on Count 11 (conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark). The jury also convicted Rana on Count 12 (providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba).
