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India
In a significant move toward justice for the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, a team of senior officers from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrived in the United States to bring back Tahawwur Rana. Rana, a 64-year-old Pakistani-origin businessman, is wanted in India for his alleged involvement in the 2008 attacks that claimed 166 lives.
According to officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the NIA delegation includes Inspector General-rank officer Ashish Batra, Deputy Inspector General Jaya Roy, and a deputy superintendent of police. They are accompanied by three intelligence agency officials. The team departed for the US on Sunday, following confirmation of a “surrender warrant,” which legally mandates the transfer of a fugitive criminal to another country.
This development comes shortly after the US Supreme Court denied Rana’s request for a stay on his extradition, clearing the final hurdle in the legal process. Sources revealed that the court had earlier rejected a review petition filed by Rana in January this year. Following that, the US initially requested more time to examine the documentation before approving the transfer.
Rana is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. He is known to be closely linked with David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative and one of the main conspirators of the Mumbai terror attacks.
Once extradited, Rana is expected to be brought directly to the NIA headquarters in Delhi, where he will be thoroughly interrogated. Authorities are already making special security arrangements. Though Tihar Jail authorities have not received a formal communication yet, preparations for housing Rana in a high-security ward have reportedly begun. The cell will be under constant CCTV surveillance, with an attached bathroom and round-the-clock monitoring.
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the coordination involved close collaboration between the MEA, the home ministry, and the NIA with US authorities. “Senior officials were in constant communication with the US State Department and the Secretary of State’s office to secure the surrender warrant,” a home ministry official stated.
The return of Tahawwur Rana is expected to provide major leads in the ongoing investigations related to the 26/11 terror attacks. His extradition marks a critical moment in India’s long pursuit of justice for one of the worst terror strikes in its history.
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