Washington: A US court has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India, where he is being sought for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Rana was arrested in the US on an extradition request by India for his role in the attacks, in which 10 Pakistani terrorists attacked and killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, at iconic and important locations in Mumbai. cast and killed. , The US court agreed to the Indian request through the US government for his extradition.
“The court has reviewed all documents presented in support and opposition to the request and has considered the arguments presented at the hearing,” said US Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian of the US District Court of California. The 48-page court order dated May 16, which was released on Wednesday.
“Based on such review and consideration and for the reasons discussed herein, the Court makes the findings set forth below and certifies the extradition of Rana to the Secretary of State for the United States on the offenses charged which are the subject of the request, the judge wrote in the order.
Who is Tahawwur Rana?
Tahawwur Rana is a Canadian businessman of Pakistani origin. He has been accused by the Indian government of planning and carrying out the LeT terrorist attacks in Mumbai, along with his childhood friend David Coleman Headley, also known as “Dawood Geelani”, and others.
What are the allegations against Rana?
The NIA has charged Rana with the following offenses (a) conspiracy to wage war, murder, forgery for the purpose of cheating, using as genuine a forged document or electronic record and (b) war abetment, (d) murder, (e) commission of terrorist act and (f) conspiracy to commit terrorist act.
Rana was convicted in Chicago in 2011 of providing material support to the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the Mumbai terror attack, and the never-ending plot to attack a Danish newspaper. who printed cartoons to support Prophet Muhammad in 2005.
He was accused of allowing David Coleman Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law business in Mumbai as a cover story and to travel as a representative of the company in Denmark.
On the other hand, Rana’s lawyer opposed the extradition. An extradition treaty is in effect between India and the United States.
What did the US court say?
US District Court Judge Jacqueline Chooljian in the Central District of Los Angeles, in a May 16 order, said that based on the foregoing, the court concludes that 62-year-old Rana is extraditable for the offenses for which extradition is requested and on which the United States is operating. The judge ruled that there was sufficient competent evidence to establish reasonable cause that Rana was an accused person in India.
“It is therefore ordered that Tahawwur Hussain Rana be committed to the custody of the Marshal of the United States pending a final decision on extradition and surrender by the Secretary of State for India for trial of those offenses for which extradition is permitted.” title 18, United States Code, section 3186 and to the treaty,” the judge ruled.
26/11 Mumbai terror attack
Mumbai came to a standstill on November 26, 2008, when 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, who had entered the city by sea route from Pakistan, carried out a series of coordinated shootings and bombings, killing over 300. More were injured and lives were lost. 166 people in the financial capital of India.
The attacks took place at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station, Cama Hospital, Nariman House business and residential complex, Leopold Cafe, Taj Hotel and Tower and Oberoi-Trident Hotel.