A US court has given its consent to the Indian request for the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
On June 10, 2020, India filed a complaint seeking the provisional arrest of 62-year-old Rana with a view towards extradition. Rana was arrested in the US for his role in these attacks. The Biden Administration had supported and approved the extradition of Rana to India.
“The Court has reviewed and considered all of the documents submitted in support of and in opposition to the Request, and has considered the arguments presented at the hearing,” said Judge Jacqueline Chooljian, US Magistrate Judge of the US District Court Central District of California, in a 48-page court order released on May 17.
“Based on such review and consideration and for the reasons discussed herein, the Court makes the findings set forth below, and CERTIFIES to the Secretary of State of the United States the extraditability of Rana on the charged offences that are the subject of the Request,” the judge wrote.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing into Rana’s role in the 26/11 attacks carried out by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in 2008. The NIA has said that it is ready to initiate proceedings to bring him to India through diplomatic channels.
During court hearings, US Government attorneys argued that Rana was aware that his childhood friend, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley was involved with LeT, and by assisting him, he was supporting the terrorist organisation and its associates.
