‘Evaluating next steps’: US govt on Rana’s extradition
According to the NIA investigation, Rana, as part of the criminal conspiracy, visited India between November 13 and 21, 2008, just before the attacks in which 166 people were killed.
A week after the US Supreme Court denied a writ by 2007 Mumbai attacks accused Tahawwur Rana seeking to prevent his extradition to India, the US government said it was “evaluating the next steps” on the extradition, while adding that Washington supports New Delhi’s efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In an email response to queries by HT, a US State Department spokesperson said: “In view of the recent Supreme Court decision, and consistent with applicable U.S. law, the Department of State is currently evaluating next steps in this case.”
The spokesperson added: “We have long supported India’s efforts to ensure the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks face justice.”
The response came at a time when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is waiting for an approval to send a team to the US in case the State Department, now led by Marco Rubio, approves the extradition. A date for the trip has not been finalised yet but regular consultations are going on between NIA, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) and ministry of external affairs (MEA) officials on the arrangements, according to officials in Delhi.
NIA and MHA declined to comment on the matter.
On January 21, the US Supreme Court denied a petition of writ of certiorari filed by Rana in November 2024 seeking to prevent his extradition to India. The writ was filed against the May 2023 order of an extradition court, which ruled in favour of India.
The Canadian national of Pakistani origin, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 64, had already lost several legal battles before the US Supreme Court decision, and has no legal recourse left.
“In extraditions, the final decision is that always of the government – in this case the US Secretary of State – but considering the support we have received during court proceedings, we know extradition of Rana will come through,” said one of the officers cited above.
Indian agencies have accused Rana of helping co-conspirator David Coleman Headley in carrying out reconnaissance of targets in Mumbai and providing logistical support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba in orchestrating the attacks. He was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2009 for being part of conspiracies to commit terrorist acts outside the US, including in Mumbai and Copenhagen.
According to the NIA investigation, Rana, as part of the criminal conspiracy, visited India between November 13 and 21, 2008, just before the attacks in which 166 people were killed. During his stay in India, Rana, along with his wife, had visited places including but not limited to Hapur, Delhi, Agra, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Mumbai etc., according to NIA’s court documents seen by HT.
Headley made multiple visits to India to conduct a reccee of the targets, and Rana was allegedly in regular touch with him.
A medical officer in the Pakistan Army, Rana moved to Canada in 1990 and eventually acquired citizenship. He then shifted to Chicago and opened a consultancy firm. According to Indian agencies, Rana opened a branch of his firm in Mumbai and used it to help Headley gather information about potential targets in the city.