‘Glad the day has come’: Marco Rubio hails extradition of Tahawwur Rana to face charges
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US has for long supported India’s efforts to “ensure those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice”.
NEW DELHI: The US extradited Mumbai terror attacks co-conspirator Tahawwur Rana to India to face charges in line with its long-standing support for New Delhi’s efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the incident, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Friday.
Rana, a Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan, was brought to India by a National Investigation Agency (NIA) team on Thursday after the 64-year-old former Pakistan Army officer exhausted all legal avenues to stall his extradition. NIA formally arrested Rana and a court remanded him in custody of the agency.
“We extradited Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India to face charges for his role in planning the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Together, with India, we’ve long sought justice for the 166 people, including 6 Americans, who lost their lives in these attacks. I’m glad that day has come,” Rubio said in a post on X.
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A statement from the US state department quoted Rubio as saying that the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks “shocked the entire world”. Rubio said the US has for long supported India’s efforts to “ensure those responsible for these attacks are brought to justice”.
Rubio added: “As President Trump has said, the United States and India will continue to work together to combat the global scourge of terrorism.”
The US justice department said in a separate statement Rana, a convicted terrorist, was extradited to stand trial in India on 10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the Mumbai terror attacks in Mumbai. “Rana’s extradition is a critical step toward seeking justice for the six Americans and scores of other victims who were killed in the heinous attacks,” the statement said.
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Rana has been charged in India with conspiracy, murder, commission of a terrorist act and forgery in connection with his alleged involvement in the Mumbai attacks committed by Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), a designated foreign terrorist group.
The US justice department noted that India has alleged Rana “facilitated a fraudulent cover” for his childhood friend David Coleman Headley, a US citizen, to freely travel to Mumbai for conducting surveillance of attack sites for the LeT. Rana allegedly agreed to open a Mumbai branch of his Chicago-based immigration business and appoint Headley as manager of this office.
On two occasions, Rana allegedly helped Headley prepare and submit visa applications to Indian authorities that “contained information Rana knew to be false”. Rana allegedly supplied documentation in support of Headley’s attempt to secure formal approval from Indian authorities to open a branch office of the immigration business.
“Over the course of more than two years, Headley allegedly repeatedly met with Rana in Chicago and described his surveillance activities on behalf of LeT, LeT’s responses to Headley’s activities, and LeT’s potential plans for attacking Mumbai,” the statement said.
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After the attacks, Rana allegedly told Headley the Indians “deserved it”. In an intercepted conversation with Headley, Rana allegedly commended the nine LeT terrorists killed during the attacks and said they “should be given Nishan-e-Haider”, Pakistan’s highest military award for gallantry in battle, the statement said.
Between November 26 and 29, 2008, a 10-member LeT squad carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bomb attacks in Mumbai after travelling to the financial hub by sea. They killed 166 people and injured hundreds more.
In 2013, Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison following his conviction by a court in Illinois for providing support to the LeT and a foiled LeT-backed terrorist plot in Denmark. In June 2020, the US acted on India’s request for Rana’s extradition, which he contested for almost five years.
After Rana’s petitions were rejected by several courts, the US Supreme Court denied Rana’s application for a stay of extradition on April 7. Two days later, the US Marshals Service executed the secretary of state’s surrender warrant by surrendering Rana to Indian authorities.
