Extradited 26/11 Mastermind Tahawwur Rana to Arrive in India Tomorrow, NIA Set to Take Custody

New Delhi: Tahawwur Rana, the 26/11 mastermind, is expected to be extradited to India on Thursday. Authorities have heightened their security and proper arrangements are underway. These arrangements are being made following guidelines from the US judiciary for handling extradited individuals.

Rana is likely to be in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the first few weeks. The preparations are being closely monitored by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The extradition of Rana marks a significant diplomatic victory for India. To this date, the only key operative held accountable in India for the November 26, 2008, attacks, which claimed over 170 lives, has been Ajmal Kasab, the sole gunman captured alive, who was subsequently tried and executed.

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The process was set in motion in December 2019, after the Indian government formally requested his extradition through diplomatic channels. A provisional arrest request followed in June 2020.

Earlier this year, former US President Donald Trump acknowledged the extradition decision, stating that "Rana would face justice in India. 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," Trump had said.

In response to this, PM Narendra Modi thanked Trump for clearing the extradition and said, "Tough action is needed against cross-border terrorism. Grateful to President Trump for deciding to extradite 26/11 terrorist Tahawwur Rana. Our courts will bring him to justice."

Court filings in the US describe Rana as a close associate of ISI’s Major Iqbal, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks. Rana and Headley were instrumental in laying the foundation for the deadly operation.

According to Indian investigators, Rana visited Mumbai shortly before the attacks, checking into the Renaissance Hotel in Powai from November 11 to 21, 2008—just days before the carnage began.

Documents from the US Justice Department reveal that both Rana and Headley were arrested by the FBI in 2009 while conspiring to launch an attack on a Danish publication and for providing material support to LeT over four years.

Headley, who turned approver, told a US court that in 2006, he and LeT operatives devised a plan to open an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for surveillance activities. He later informed Rana—his friend since school days in Pakistan —about his assignment. The duo shared a deep level of trust, with Rana not only funding Headley's operations but also impersonating him in communications related to their plots.

In preparation for the Mumbai attack, Rana authorized the use of his business, First World Immigration Services, as a front. Headley made multiple visits to India between 2007 and 2008 under a visa arranged with Rana's help, collecting critical intelligence used to carry out the 26/11 attacks.