In a significant development that could lead to the trial of 26/11 terror suspect Tahawwur Rana in Delhi, the Patiala House Court has ordered trial court records of the Mumbai terror attack cases. The records were already dispatched to Mumbai as the same cases were being tried in both cities.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took this step by making an application for the records to be provided from Mumbai. This order is an important milestone in the legal struggle of the infamous attacks.
The extradition of Rana was recently announced by the former United States President Donald Trump during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States. In a joint press conference, Trump said, “Today, I am proud to say that my government has authorized the extradition of one of the conspirators and one of the worst people in the world, Tahawwur Rana, to India to stand trial.” He emphasized the importance of taking Rana to India to be tried.
The US Supreme Court had already dismissed Rana’s review petition against extradition. Following Trump’s announcement, reports indicated that Rana had filed a last-minute appeal on humanitarian grounds, which would delay his arrival in India by weeks.
Rana, born in Pakistan but a Canadian citizen, was a doctor in the Pakistani military and was convicted in 2011 by a U.S. federal court of aiding and abetting Lashkar-e-Taiba, the organization that conducted the 2008 attacks.
David Coleman Headley, one of the key conspirators of the 26/11 attacks, stepped forward to declare that he had reconnoitered potential targets in Mumbai prior to the attacks. He testified against Rana and explained how he took a number of trips to India and received assistance from Rana to establish an immigration business so that he could keep his identity secret.
Although a US court acquitted Rana of charges related to the Mumbai attacks in 2011, he was found guilty of providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba and conspiring in another terror plot in Denmark.
The catastrophic events of November 26, 2008, involved coordinated attacks at more than one location in Mumbai, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel, which took 166 lives, including 20 police and security personnel, and 26 foreign nationals.
