The countdown to justice intensifies as Tahawwur Rana, a key figure in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, nears extradition from the U.S. to India. After years of legal battles, the Supreme Court’s latest ruling paves the way for his return, where he’ll answer for allegedly supporting the deadly assault that claimed 166 lives. Tihar Jail awaits the Pakistani-Canadian convict.
BY PC Bureau
Tahawwur Rana, implicated in the horrific 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, could be on his way back to India as early as today. A dedicated group of officials from multiple Indian agencies has journeyed to the United States to manage his transfer. On April 7, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Rana’s last-ditch effort to halt his extradition, opening the door for his swift return. Led by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG)-level officer, the Indian delegation is working closely with U.S. counterparts to wrap up the required paperwork and legal steps, fueling hopes that Rana’s extradition is just around the corner.
Currently held in a Los Angeles federal lockup, the 64-year-old Pakistani-born Canadian is set to face justice in India for his suspected role in the 26/11 carnage, which snuffed out 166 lives, including six from the U.S. Indian authorities have long maintained that Rana was a linchpin in orchestrating the assault. Reports suggest Delhi’s Tihar Jail is being prepped to house him once he lands.
Rana’s legal saga in the U.S. kicked off with a 2011 guilty verdict for aiding Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Pakistan-based terror group that masterminded the Mumbai bloodshed, and for plotting an aborted attack on a Danish newspaper. Prosecutors say Rana gave his old friend David Coleman Headley a smokescreen by letting him operate under the guise of Rana’s Chicago immigration outfit. This ruse allowed Headley to slip into India, posing as a businessman setting up shop in Mumbai, all while scoping out targets for the eventual assault.
The 26/11 attacks, carried out by 10 LeT gunmen, left an indelible scar—striking landmarks like the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, and Nariman House, killing over 175 and wounding countless others. Rana, once a Pakistan Army medic turned entrepreneur, is said to have tapped his connections to back Headley’s reconnaissance. Legal filings reveal he didn’t just help—he allegedly cheered the attackers on, saying the victims “got what they deserved.”
BREAKING:
India Steps Up Efforts to Extradite Tahawwur Rana from U.S.
Indian multi-agency team in the U.S. to fast-track legal proceedings.
Extradition paperwork nearing completion in coordination with American authorities.
High chance of Rana’s handover soon, confirm… pic.twitter.com/MebuM2ON0p
— Atulkrishan (@iAtulKrishan1) April 9, 2025
Through his immigration business, Rana handed Headley the perfect cover: a visa for extended stays in India that dodged any red flags. Headley admitted to charting out Mumbai’s key sites, feeding the intel to LeT for their pinpoint strike. Rana first landed in U.S. crosshairs in 2009 over the Danish scheme, but India kept pushing for his extradition, pointing to his wider hand in LeT’s lethal plot, even though a U.S. court cleared him of direct Mumbai attack charges.
His lawyers recently made a desperate bid to stall the extradition, pleading with the U.S. Supreme Court for a reprieve. They highlighted his failing health and warned of brutal treatment in Indian jails, fearing torture or worse. The court brushed it off, upholding an earlier Ninth Circuit decision that the 1997 U.S.-India extradition pact covers the slew of charges awaiting him in India—everything from conspiracy and terror to waging war and murder.
The U.S. State Department gave the go-ahead for his extradition on February 11, 2025, just before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big Washington trip. Rana’s legal crew demanded a peek at Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s reasoning and assurances about his fate in India, but the U.S. stonewalled them, locking in his handover. As this chapter nears its end, Rana’s story shines a stark light on the 26/11 aftermath and the tangled global effort to tackle terrorism’s reach.
