New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun preparations to bring back Tahawwur Rana, who is wanted in India for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The agency has put together a team of five officers who will make the trip to Los Angeles once the US secretary of state gives the final approval, ThePrint has learnt.
Usually, the extradition is carried out as early as within 24 hours of the secretary’s approval, sources in the security establishment told ThePrint. Rana is currently being held at a detention centre in Los Angeles.
“The US secretary of state must provide final approval for the extradition, and we are waiting for that,” one of the sources said. The approval will be communicated to Indian authorities through the US embassy, who will then pass it on to the concerned agency.
The source said that India expects the ruling to be in its favour. “We have been preparing for Rana’s extradition and have been holding meetings with officials from the US embassy over the last few months. With the kind of evidence against him and how India pressed its case, we were certain that the ruling will be in our favour.”
“Now it is just a matter of time and we are prepared unless some litigation starts adding a hurdle, but that is unlikely,” the source added.
A tentative team of five officers, who will travel to the US and bring Rana back, has already been put together. It includes officers from the Inspector General rank.
“The judicial process is now over, now it’s a state decision that is pending and the team will leave as soon as that comes,” the source said, adding that the team is from the NIA because it was the agency that chargesheeted Rana.
“The team is already coordinating with their US counterparts to plan Rana’s transit,” the source added.
They further said that the final decision regarding the mode of transport on which Rana will be brought back is still under consideration. It could either be a chartered flight, a military aircraft, or even a commercial flight, though it is unlikely.
Meanwhile, Tihar Jail, where Rana will be lodged once brought back, has also been asked to make the required preparations.
Also Read: ‘Misplaced, mistaken’. How US govt countered Tahawwur Rana’s bid to avoid India extradition in court
Judicial process exhausted
Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, has been sought by India for his involvement in the 2008 terror attacks that claimed the lives of at least 174 people and left more than 300 others injured across Mumbai.
A former doctor with the Pakistan Army, Rana migrated to Canada in 1997. He then moved to the US, where he set up an immigration firm, which was used as a cover for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist David Headley to recce key buildings for the deadly 2008 terror attacks, the NIA has alleged in the chargesheet against him.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Rana for allegedly providing material support to Headley. While Headley was convicted for his role, Rana was acquitted in 2011 due to a lack of adequate evidence.
However, in a separate case, he was convicted and sentenced for 14 years for hatching an unsuccessful attack against a Danish newspaper. He was released from prison during the COVID-19 pandemic on compassionate grounds, but was rearrested by US authorities after New Delhi moved the extradition request in 2020.
Rana’s extradition was first ordered by a court in May 2023, which he challenged in a California district court. However, the district court upheld the verdict of the extradition court.
After his petition was similarly junked by the US Courts of Appeals, Rana moved the Supreme Court in November last year. It was the last legal remedy available to him to stop the extradition.
On 21 January, the top court denied his review petition, clearing the path for his extradition to India.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
Also Read: Process for Tahawwur Rana’s extradition to India ‘begins’ as US Supreme Court clears move