Who is Tahawwur Rana, the 26/11 accused being extradited to India?

Pakistan-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, wanted in India for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, is extraditable under the plain provisions of the U.S.-India extradition treaty, a U.S. attorney told a U.S Court of Appeals. We examine his story.

The story so far: Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, accused of playing a major role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in India, is extraditable under the plain provisions of the U.S.-India extradition treaty, an attorney has told a U.S Court of Appeals, where Rana appealed against an order made by a California District Court.

The California court had earlier denied his writ of habeus corpus, which challenged a court order acceding to the request of the U.S. government that those accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks be extradited to India.

In a closing argument made before the U.S Court of Appeals, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Criminal Appeals Chief Bram Alden said that “Rana is extraditable to India under the plain provisions of the treaty, and India has established probable cause to prosecute him for his role in terrorist attacks that resulted in 166 deaths and 239 injuries.”

Rana, 63, has been incarcerated in a Los Angeles prison since the extradition request by India was accepted by the U.S. He faces several criminal charges for his role in the Mumbai terror attacks, He is also known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, also known as “Daood Gilani,” one of the chief conspirators of the attacks, helping him and others located in Pakistan to assist terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harakat ul-Jihad-e-Islami in carrying out the Mumbai attacks.

Tahawwur Hussain Rana was formerly an army doctor in Pakistan. He studied in Pakistan but later went to Canada as a businessman, reportedly specialising in immigration services. He owned First World Immigration Services, with offices in Chicago and other locations.

He is a school friend of terrorist David Headley, a U.S. citizen partially of Pakistani descent, and also a resident of Chicago. Headley is currently serving 35 years in a US prison after he was convicted for his role in planning the 2008 attacks in various locations in Mumbai.

Rana is wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his role in the November 26, 2008 terror attack, in which 10 Pakistani terrorists laid a more than 60-hour siege to various iconic locations in the heart of Mumbai, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Taj Mahal Hotel, Nariman House and the Cama and Albless Hospital. A total of 166 people, including six Americans, were killed in the horrendous attack.