26/11 Mastermind Tahawwur Rana To Be Brought To India Tonight; Delhi, Mumbai Jails On High Alert: Sources

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New Delhi – Pakistani-Canadian national Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, will be extradited to India on Wednesday after the US Supreme Court rejected his final attempt to block the move. 

According to sources, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will take Rana into custody upon his arrival. While it is not confirmed whether Rana will be brought to Delhi or Mumbai, sources suggest he is likely to land in Mumbai, where the deadly 26/11 attacks were carried out. He is expected to remain in NIA custody for the initial few weeks. 

Rana, a former member of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), is accused of helping David Coleman Headley scout locations in Mumbai for the attacks that killed 166 people. 

The US Supreme Court officially denied Rana’s application to halt his extradition. “Application (…) denied by the Court,” read the court docket updated on Monday. 

In his petition, Rana had argued he could be tortured if extradited to India. His lawyer, Tillman J. Finley, cited a UK case to support his claim. “A man convicted of money laundering was prevented from being extradited by a London court upholding his fears of torture. If that person could not be extradited to India because he was likely to be tortured, the petitioner is even more likely to be tortured and similarly should not be extradited,” Finley wrote in the plea. 

The request was initially rejected in March by Justice Elena Kagan. Rana then appealed to Chief Justice John Roberts, but the Supreme Court refused to hear the case last Friday, with the verdict made public on Monday. 

Though a US jury had acquitted Rana of directly supporting the 2008 attacks, he was found guilty of two other charges and sentenced to over 10 years in prison. 

Following a release order due to his deteriorating health post-COVID, Rana was rearrested under the extradition process. His co-accused David Headley avoided extradition to India by securing a deal with US authorities. 

Rana’s extradition was first announced by then US President Donald Trump during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2020 visit to the White House. After legal battles spanning years, Rana has now exhausted all legal avenues to avoid extradition. 

Authorities in India are preparing high-security arrangements for his custody and possible transfer, with special jails being readied for the accused.